The Observer, September 19, 2008
Volume XLI, Issue 4
Men's Soccer: Struggles continue with loss to Oberlin
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The men's soccer team fell upon hard times last week again as they split their road trip with a victory and a loss. While the team still has a winning record at 3-2, they have failed to meet their lofty, self-imposed expectations thus far.
The first contest suggested that the Spartans had found the answer they were looking for after a surprising loss to a good Hiram team. They returned to form creating great offensive opportunities and playing harder than Muskingum College in their 3-1 win. Junior Kyle Bednar led off the scoring with a goal in the 39th minute. "It was just a great ball by Mark Ilhan that bounced and I hit it left-footed, trying to place it in a corner," said Bednar of his goal. Senior Kevin Bigart added another goal to the Spartans' lead halfway through the second period with assists from Matt Paglia and Justin Steggerda. It was his third score of the year. Muskingum tried to mount a come-back late after a successful penalty kick cut their deficit to one in the 77th minute. However, junior Brian Evans scored his first goal this season to break Muskingum's spirit and seal a victory for the Spartans.
The second game played out to be a nightmare for the Spartans. The team seemed to have no answer defensively for the Oberlin College attack. The beginning of the game was a back-and-forth affair, but the Yeomen scored first and took a 1-0 lead into the break. The second half was far worse. The Yeomen scored four minutes into the half and then again one minute later. Junior Brian Evans managed to score a lone goal for the Spartans, but not before Oberlin could tack on another goal in their flurry of offense. It was an agonizing defeat for a team who had more shots and shots on goal than its opponent. The Yeomen won by a final score of 4-1.
Even though it was a tough road series for the team, they still have their heads up and are looking forward to their next opponents. "Team morale is still good, despite the losses," said Steggerda. "Obviously, we hate losing, so we are focusing and working hard to keep it from happening again." CWRU will face two opponents this week: John Carroll University and Heidelberg College. Both teams will prove to be a good challenge for the Spartans, according to Steggerda. "They are teams that play with a lot of intensity and passion," he said. "We need to exceed their intensity and focus on the field; do the things that we work on in practice, and we should put ourselves in a good position to win." Look for the Spartans to use their team speed and better defensive communication to turn their ship around. There is still a lot of soccer to be played and this is not a team willing to pack it in after some difficult losses.
The game against Heidelberg is at home this Saturday and begins at 7:30 p.m. as the Spartans make a push to improve before taking their game on the road again the following week.
