The men’s soccer team produced a 4-0 win against Central Methodist University Friday, March 5 at home.
Ending the reigning NAIA champion’s two-year win streak, the Bears managed to put the ball in the back of the net four times, leaving a dominating and eventful performance on the pitch from start to finish.
From the start, the Bears opened the scoring in the second minute when sophomore midfielder Alexsi Morel raced past a defender to shoot the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
Putting the next goal onto the scoresheet, junior defender Alberto Suarez managed to find a goal off of a free kick from outside of the 18-yard line. Suarez chipped the ball up, leaving the goalkeeper to dive in one direction, but the ball hit the post and went in the net in the opposite direction, giving the Bears a 2-0 lead in the 37th minute.
Soon after half-time, UCA was awarded a penalty kick due to an opposing player’s foul in their penalty box. Suarez stepped up to put the Bears up by three points in the 52nd minute.
At the 61st minute of the match, sophomore defender Edoardo Calzola added to the goal count when he made a run on the left flank to set up for a cross to the center of the pitch, but found the goalkeeper off his line. Calzola daringly sent the ball from the sideline into the goal by crossing it over the goalkeeper, which attempted to save it, but could not pull it off.
Although the 4-0 win appeared as an ease, men’s soccer coach Ross Duncan said otherwise about the comfortability of the victory.
“I’m never comfortable,” Duncan said. “Even when I knew the win was secured, I was focused on making sure we kept a clean sheet and stayed disciplined to finish the match.”
As for what Duncan thinks gave his team the victory, he said, “I’d say just our commitment and level of competition we brought was what made the difference. As I said, they’re a very strong opponent. So we couldn’t just outplay them. We needed to out-compete them.”
A match against the champions, who have had a two-year undefeated streak, would not come easy, but would require focus and preparation, said Duncan.
“The game was a great opportunity to match up with one of the top teams in the region and maybe the country. We knew it would be a big challenge and prepared our guys accordingly. I was happy with how we performed…They’re athletic, very talented, experienced, and they do things tactically that most teams we face don’t do. So preparing for them is a challenge.”
As he mentioned, a clean sheet was a goal for Duncan aside from the four-point victory, and freshman goalkeeper Zach Shawl helped achieve that goal.
“I would be lying if I said it was an easy clean sheet,” Shawl said with a chuckle. “They had some really good players who clearly had an understanding of the game. Keeping a clean sheet against them feels great, especially knowing they average 3.75 goals per game.”
For Shawl, he said the game was “excellent for me and for everybody. We train hard everyday to make sure that we get results come match day, and I think…we really showed the work we put in day in and day out.”
Shawl said that the work and desire is what helped them attain the victory over CMU. He said the team came into the game “hungry,” and kept the focus and fight throughout the 90 minutes.
“I think what won us the game was our desire,” Shawl said. “Obviously we have phenomenal players and coaches and we have the tools and systems to win us games, but none of it works unless we have the desire to put them on show.”
Shawl continued to pay respects to his teammates for the win, and prided the abilities of his team.
“It was a really big performance from all of the boys,” he said. “It shows what we’re capable of. But now our focus is shifted to our game on Wednesday, so we take this game as a learning experience. We’re looking to get redemption and end ORU’s winning streak, and add to our own.”
The Bears will kick off against Oral Roberts University Wednesday, March 10 in Tulsa, OK.