soccerfanatic
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Taylor Powell
Taylor Powell may well be the Bengal's secret weapon going into this season. Most teams never got to know who Powell is. Powell started the season with a bang, impressing the local paper in scrimmages and taking three shots and scoring a goal against Utah Valley in the opening exhibition game. Following that impressive start, Coach started Powell in two of the first three games. Unfortunately, Powell sort of disappeared after the exhibition game.
Powell took just one shot in the two games she started. Then, Powell took just two more shots over the rest of the season (11 more games.) To put this in perspective, as a forward, Powell took fewer shots than almost any of the other returning players, including defenders Henage and Hough. She did have one good outing, scoring her only goal of the season and recording her only assist in the 7-1 blowout of Southern Utah. Powell's lack of offensive production was certainly the primary factor in Coach Gibson giving Powell fewer minutes than any of the freshmen who are returning this year.
That is the bad news. The good news is this: Powell has a ton of talent and may soon be the emerging offensive star for the Bengals. Everyone who watches Powell recognizes that she has the ability to light up the scoreboard in a hurry. She had moments in spring ball when it looked like she was ready to go. If Powell gets over her freshman insecurity and begins to attack the goal they way she has demonstrated is well within her capabilities, she could be an offensive powerhouse this year. Last year, Powell averaged less than one shot for every two hours she spent on the field. Of those shots, 2/3 were on frame, and 1/3 hit the back of the net. In contrast, our leading scorer, Jana Boehler took one shot every 30 minutes, but was on frame less than half of the time and scored on less than one out of every 7 shots. Who knows? If Powell can get aggressive and start taking to ball to the goal by putting up 40-50 shots this season, she could easily score 10-15 goals this year. Here's to hoping that a year of experience will help Powell reach the offensive potential that she so clearly possesses.
Taylor Powell may well be the Bengal's secret weapon going into this season. Most teams never got to know who Powell is. Powell started the season with a bang, impressing the local paper in scrimmages and taking three shots and scoring a goal against Utah Valley in the opening exhibition game. Following that impressive start, Coach started Powell in two of the first three games. Unfortunately, Powell sort of disappeared after the exhibition game.
Powell took just one shot in the two games she started. Then, Powell took just two more shots over the rest of the season (11 more games.) To put this in perspective, as a forward, Powell took fewer shots than almost any of the other returning players, including defenders Henage and Hough. She did have one good outing, scoring her only goal of the season and recording her only assist in the 7-1 blowout of Southern Utah. Powell's lack of offensive production was certainly the primary factor in Coach Gibson giving Powell fewer minutes than any of the freshmen who are returning this year.
That is the bad news. The good news is this: Powell has a ton of talent and may soon be the emerging offensive star for the Bengals. Everyone who watches Powell recognizes that she has the ability to light up the scoreboard in a hurry. She had moments in spring ball when it looked like she was ready to go. If Powell gets over her freshman insecurity and begins to attack the goal they way she has demonstrated is well within her capabilities, she could be an offensive powerhouse this year. Last year, Powell averaged less than one shot for every two hours she spent on the field. Of those shots, 2/3 were on frame, and 1/3 hit the back of the net. In contrast, our leading scorer, Jana Boehler took one shot every 30 minutes, but was on frame less than half of the time and scored on less than one out of every 7 shots. Who knows? If Powell can get aggressive and start taking to ball to the goal by putting up 40-50 shots this season, she could easily score 10-15 goals this year. Here's to hoping that a year of experience will help Powell reach the offensive potential that she so clearly possesses.
