Men’s Soccer Hopeful after 11-0 Win Against Blackburn
Camron Canniff
The black and gold men’s soccer squad is off to a good start this season. They are currently 2-2 and hope to continue with more wins.
On Friday, Sept. 7, the Spartans beat Baldwin Wallace 4-2.
During the match against Baldwin Wallace, sophomore forward Josh Gonzalez led the way with a hat trick.
Saturday, they defeated Blackburn 11-0. Both senior midfielder Samuel Tetteh-Quarshie and first-year midfielder Drew Gavit scored two goals each. The team totaled 38 shots, 28 which were on frame. Gonzalez tied up the weekend with 4 goals and 3 assists. Senior midfielder Josh McCoy also scored during this game.
“At halftime we were winning 3-0, but despite the score, we weren’t quite happy with our performance,” McCoy said. “When the second half started, we knew we had to play better, and we ended up scoring eight more goals that half. Despite the 11-0 score, we know there’s always room for improvement. We’re looking to take this momentum into the weekend.”
Spartan soccer will keep the non-conference games going up until Sept. 29 with an away game against Hanover. After that they will play conference games.
Nick Surber, sophomore midfielder, is happy with the team’s success so far this season. “Th e team is doing well, though we had a little bit of a rough start to our season,” he said. “We bounced back in the last two games and started scoring more and more. Our team is coming together to form that camaraderie.”
That camaraderie will be crucial with bigger games on the horizon. “Hanover is a huge one to look forward to not only as a team but for our university, too,” Surber said. “Since it is the start of our season in regular conference games, we want to see how we match up against a strong conference opposition."
“We also can’t wait to face Transylvania because they are always ranked and they won conference last year,” he continued. “They are a good team and we believe that we are too. We can’t wait to work every day and become better as a whole.”
The team has practiced much to prepare for this season. “We went into every day with the right attitude,” Surber said. “It is always a big day for us whether we are in practice or having a game day.
“There is not a day where we don’t want to work,” he continued. “We have so much to look forward to and we feel it’ll be a great season to come. We have good shots at being great on the field.”
The Spartans will continue their schedule by facing Kalamazoo College on their own turf on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 5 p.m. They then will face DePauw University for another away game the next day, Sunday, Sept. 16, at 3 p.m. Then the men’s soccer team will bring it back home on Sept. 19 to play Huntington University at Good Field.