Last week, Decatur FC lost a game.
That’s normal in soccer, and in a game that was such a battle and in the midst of a solid inaugural season, Decatur can be forgiven for losing a game. As their schedule increases in difficulty, there may be more losses ahead for the new team in the WPSL’s Southeastern Conference.
“I think the [Georgia] Impact game where we tied 0-0 was a real eye-opener for us, being a first-year team and a lot of the girls playing in their first summer,” Decatur FC assistant coach Jack Marchant said. “It’s a tough way to start the season when you play the teams that we’ve played and you get off to an easy start because a lot of them will think that’s how kind of the league goes. We know from a coaching standpoint, that’s not how it goes. But you only learn from these tests. … We know that we’ve got four really tough games left and we’ve got to up our game and I think the girls are excited for it.”
The Black and Gold aren’t satisfied with their performance in the loss and don’t want any more of them, though. They know they’re better than they showed last Friday and they want to prove it tonight against Tormenta.
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Decatur FC’s roster features three new additions.
One is West Georgia outside back Ava Maldonado, who adds depth to Decatur’s back line. Another is Carmen Hardwick from Fordham, who plays winger and will aid the Black and Gold in scoring the goals that have eluded them thus far in tough competitions. Additionally, Decatur has added goaltender Kiera Oliver, though she is not rostered for Friday’s game. Several of them have been training with the team already, so their integration has been relatively smooth.
“A lot of them have been training with us so I think they’ll be good additions,” Kat Elliott said. “I think it’ll only benefit us.”
Fan support
Part of Decatur’s motivation to get another win lies in its fans. The team has broken the WPSL’s all-time attendance record and registered over 1,000 fans on a night when the temperatures were over 90° and the club was competing with an Atlanta United game. Decatur’s fans have been extremely passionate about their team despite only seeing one win at home, and the Black and Gold hope to reward their fans with their second at-home victory.
“We want to treat the crowd to a good spectacle but we also want to send them home happy with a win,” Marchant said. “So our motivation going into tomorrow is a chance to get back in the win column and set ourselves up well for Sunday [against Chattanooga FC] as well.”
Kaitlin Sinkler agreed, saying the community support has been “inspiring.”
“The city’s done a really good job of supporting us,” Sinkler said. “I run into so many people, they’re like, “Oh, my God, like you play for Decatur,” and it’s just really encouraging. And so it’s great to be back at home. I know not a lot of the teams have that support behind them, so it’s definitely something that’s very inspiring to us because not a lot of us get to play in front of a crowd like that.”
The schedule
Decatur FC plays Fri., June 21 at 7 p.m. at home against Tormenta before they head on the road to face Chattanooga FC on Sun., June 23 at 6 p.m.