Coverage of soccer team lacking

AbMcNaught

Washburn University is steadily improving athletics in all areas. Our football team will finish the season with a winning record, the volleyball team is headed to the South Central Regional tournament, the men’s basketball team took K-State to three overtimes, and the women’s basketball team held their own with KU, just to name a few.

What about the Lady Blues soccer team? Oh yeah, them. They only won the MIAA title and only led the No. 1 team in the nation in its final game of the Central Regional tournament. They only won 15 games, lost one and tied six. Who cares, right? Wrong.

The Lady Blues soccer team is an infant team, having completed its fourth year of play. For this team to make it to the NCAA Division II tournament is quite a phenomenon. They have done amazing this year, and there are many people who are proud of them.

Unfortunately, a number of people were unable to travel to Omaha to support the soccer team this last weekend. I was one of them. After utilizing the Live Stats feature on the Washburn Athletics page for football games, I assumed that this tournament would be covered. It is the NCAA Division II tournament. I could be wrong in this, but this is a big deal. Live Stats were not available for this tournament and radio coverage was also absent. I am very disappointed that these were not offered, especially because the other sports teams have this amenity available to them. I had to wait a considerable amount of time after each game’s conclusion to receive a phone call informing me the outcome of the game. This is not fair. The soccer team is as much of a team as the football team. They may not draw 6,500 fans, but they do have fans who want to support them.

I also found it interesting that the results from this very big game were found on the last page of the Sideliner in the Washburn Review. Maybe people are not processing how big of a game this was. The Lady Blues played the number one team in the nation, not the number one team in the MIAA or the number one team in the central region. The University of Nebraska-Omaha is the number one team in the nation, the reigning national champions and the Lady Blues led the game until the last minute of the second half and finally lost in a shootout after two overtimes.

Congratulations Lady Blues soccer for an amazing season. We are all very proud of you.

Shame on you Washburn Athletics Department, WIBW and Washburn Review for your lack of support for the Lady Blues soccer team.