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BEAVER TOWNSHIP -- Last season, Rich Wall, the head coach of the Youngstown State women's soccer program, led the team to a program best 6-2-2 Horizon League mark and a third-place conference finish in his first season at the helm.
Their eight total wins -- they finished 8-10-2 overall -- was second overall in the 31-year history of the program, while the team set single-season marks for most goals scored, assists, points, team points and league wins.
Five players were named to the All-Horizon League postseason teams, with Kamryn Rosa, a second-team selection a year ago, earning Freshman of the Year honors.
Sitting at 2-0-1 and in third-place in the league - they are 2-7-3 overall - Wall has the Penguins positioned to make a run at the conference championship, looking to loosen the stranglehold Milwaukee (3-0) and Green Bay (3-0) have had on the title and automatic NCAA tournament bid.
A change in culture and a 'we can do it' belief when he arrived has the Penguins a half-game out of the top spot with eight regular season games remaining before the start of the league's postseason tournament on Nov. 7.
"The plan was to change everything," Wall told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday's meeting at Avion Banquet Center. "I wanted to change the program's identity, and the first thing we were going to change was the entire schedule. We took on a daunting schedule last year and actually an even more daunting slate this year. Obviously, we lost a lot of games, but when we started Horizon League play, I firmly believe that's where our success would be measured.
"It's about winning the conference regular season championship and postseason tournament. Playing such a challenging schedule, by the time we got to conference play, we had exorcised all our demons. Everything that we were going to struggle with and everything that was possibly going to surprise or challenge us we had already seen. We had already faced that in some version or variant, so that was step No. 1.
"We were going to go a completely different route with our non-conference schedule, and with that we've played seven or eight power-four schools over the past two seasons. When you look at the history of what we've done in the Horizon League, then look at the past two seasons, I think there is a correlation in our preparation. It's being more efficient and how we have used non-conference strength of schedule to boost our level of play. Then, when Horizon League play started, it's not that it is easier, it's that we are better prepared for everything that we see."
Taking the YSU job was a no-brainer for the program's head mentor.
"Seeing is believing and going through the process, mostly with Rebecca Fink then with athletic director Ron Strollo, it became apparent winning is appreciated at YSU," Wall said. "It's family-oriented and tied in perfectly with where I am in my life and my desire to win. It's a blending of those two parts of my life together."
A soccer lifer, Wall played collegiately at Gardner-Webb and Wingate University, but a heart-to-heart talk with his father while in high school sealed his coaching fate.
"It was the summer entering my junior year in college when I actually took my first coaching course, paid for by my mother," Wall said. "That opened the door for me. I was like, 'Yes, this is what I want to do for my life, my career.' My father challenged me when I was 16 years-old, asking me if I knew what my skill set was and I said soccer, more specifically coaching.
"Getting into that coaching course early in my playing career had a lasting impact on me. The opportunity came when my senior year ended. I suffered a knee injury in the last game of my career and my coach asked if I had given any thought to coaching. I got into coaching right away and haven't missed a fall on the college soccer sidelines the last 15 years."
The Penguins didn't take long to buy into Wall's vision for the program.
"I think every team in the country is better than they know, so I am a firm believer in instilling confidence and belief," Wall said. "Unlike basketball or football, there are no general game plans, no set plays or intervals in soccer. It's a free-flowing game at times, so having an identity with structure allows you to play to your strengths. I think that is really important and feel that is something that the team really bought into a year ago. Once they started to see the results, the belief took off from there.
"Defensively, we are miles ahead of where we were a year ago. Our goals against average is 1.67 this year, we ended last year 2.0 and have already gone through the gauntlet of our schedule. I expect that number to continue to come down a little bit more, so while we improved a lot defensively, the attacking is only going to take off. We are right where we need to be, unbeaten in the league through three games with road games this week at Oakland University and Detroit Mercy."
This year's roster features two local players, Ava Paris, a sophomore form Canfield, and Frankie Cassese, a freshman who played at Cardinal Mooney.
"Ava [Paris] set her career high in minutes last week and gives us great energy," Wall said. "She is more of your stereotypical development pathway, where traditionally freshmen come in and they have to develop. In a little over a year, you can see that trajectory just kind of take off. She has come in, has all the physical tools that you look for in a modern outside back and we are really excited with the progress that she is making.
"Frankie [Cassese], unfortunately, has been dealing with an injury, so we've yet to get her into a game. I don't know if she will feature this season but we are hopeful. She is a player who brings a lot of energy, speed and attacking excitement to the game. We are hoping that when she does return, she is able to find her groove, and again, add to the depth that we have and attacking quality. Both women are terrific human beings that we love having in the program. As much as we want to win games, we also want to recruit the top local talent for our program as well."
Next week, YSU men's head basketball coach Ethan Faulkner will serve as guest speaker.