While the Northern State soccer squad scored 10 first-half goals in a recent exhibition game, it was the second half that was more valuable than the first, according to Wolves coach Bob Casper.

“I think the second half is where we would probably take more from it, because we decided to put some parameters around the game,” Casper said. “It was actually more of a positive to see the amount of goals go down in the second half.”

The reason why Casper had more satisfaction with the second half goes along with the old saying: you learn more in your defeats than you do in your victories.

“It gave us some meaningful video and things like that. … Glad to say we found some positive use to critique,” Casper said. “Because, yes, when you have 10 goals in the first half, it’s hard to critique, so you make the game harder.”

Casper made the game harder for the girls so they could work on specific techniques and situations to prepare them for a tough conference schedule, one of the most competitive in Division II.

“Maybe that’s doing this type of passing, this movement, because A, we challenge them; and then B, great, we’re going to have some mistakes to look at on the video,” Casper said.

The Wolves were picked to finish seventh when the preseason NSIC poll came out earlier this month after a record year for the Wolves, when they finished third in the conference and hosted the first ever playoff game on the Athletic & Recreation Fields.

The Wolves finished with 129 points in seventh place in the poll, just 22 points behind fourth-rated Mary. Meanwhile, eighth-rated Minnesota Duluth had 97 points, 32 behind the Wolves.

“If you kind of look at the rankings, we are in the mid hundreds of points, and we’re basically the last team in the group of that,” Casper said. “I think people see the top seven as the group that’s pretty solid. … It’s a pretty clear break that everyone in the league somewhat thinks there’s this group.”

The Wolves are used to having an underdog mentality and have grown accustomed to outperforming those preseason expectations.

“The last three seasons we’ve outperformed that poll upwards of five spots,” Casper said. “It puts us in a mental space that all the returners should be pretty used to, so that’s great.”

Last year the Wolves finished 2-1-3 against the squads that finished in front of them in the NSIC preseason poll.

One of the main focuses for Casper this year as Northern attempts to turn those ties into wins, and those losses into ties is to look at the small details that can change the outcome of a game.

“Here’s some areas to tweak, so you try to show meaningful stats, like hey, if we can get better at this area and this area instead of tying this game, we’re winning this game, instead of losing that game, maybe we’re tying that game,” Casper said. “And they see it, so they’re receptive to it … not just to critique, but areas of improvement. I don’t think it’s really a critique, just how to get a little better.”

The Wolves open the season vs. Drury University at Bemidji, Minn. on Sept. 6, followed by their home opener Sept. 8th against Missouri Western State.