MACKY SINGH

Kathleen McCann October 25, 2012 | The Aquinian

For the first time in 10 years the St. Thomas University women’s soccer team is going to playoffs. STU Women’s Soccer Team 2012 The team clinched their fourth seed playoff spot with a four win, six loss record in the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association. 

Head coach Macky Singh said there were a number of factors that led to the team’s success. Singh took a different approach with this year’s team, which he said was very effective. “I allowed the players to make the team goal instead of me,” he said. “I gave the players ownership of how they wanted the team to chart their path.” 

In preparing for playoffs, an achievement none of the team members have experienced before, Singh doesn’t want the focus to be on the result of the game. “Basically we’re trying to take the pressure away from the players. We’re just going to approach it as another game,” he said. Rachel Green, a fourth year player and co-captain, said she is feeling pressure but is proud just to have made it to playoffs. 

“It [making playoffs] was the goal the team had set at the beginning of the year and I’m excited to have met it,” she said. Green said the team chemistry and commitment is what helped them earn a playoff spot. In terms of expectations, she’s hoping for positive results. 

The fourth place Tommies will face the first place Holland College Hurricanes in the semi-final on Saturday in Halifax, and Green believes being the underdog will work to their advantage. “We don’t have much to lose while Holland College has everything to lose,” she said. Singh’s expectations are for the girls to work hard, focus on their objectives, and leave it all on the field. 

“If they walk away and feel like they’ve done everything that needs to be done and they can walk away with their heads held high, to me that’s more important than anything else,” he said.