Men’s soccer traveled to Memphis, Tennessee this weekend, turning out a pair of draws to open its spring season against the University of Memphis Tigers and Christian Brothers University Buccaneers.
Memphis was the first on the ticket for the weekend.
The Bears held off the Tiger’s offense, keeping the score 0-0 due to an impressive 90 minutes of play for freshman goalkeeper Harrison Veith of Richmond, Texas.
The Tigers have a heavy-footed offense, consistently putting up around a goal per game, but UCA seemed up to the task to keep the pressure on the Memphis defense, while staying strong on its own side of the pitch.
Things heated up against Christian Brothers, as the Buccaneers put one goal up on the Bears in the first half.
After halftime, the Bears returned ready to win, with sophomore midfielder/forward Wes Carson evening the score with a header from across the box with an assist from freshman midfeilder William Woody, bringing the score to 1-1.
This was no easy feat against a team that went 14-3-1 last season as a top-20 contender for Division II soccer.
Jacob Campbell, a junior defender from Brandon, Mississippi, felt good about this weekend and looks forward to what the rest of the season holds in store.
“I think it was a good weekend for us,” he said. “We gained experience and coming back from a loss against Memphis in the fall to a draw is an improvement nonetheless.”
The Bears have a young team and are working on improving and building experience every time they hit the pitch.
“Our team is really young compared to the rest of teams in the conference, so the guys who didn’t see much playing time in the fall are getting to play a significant amount of minutes, especially since our team only has 17 players this spring,” Campbell said.
The Bears have not been known for their wins in recent years, going 3-13-1 overall and 0-5-1 in conference last season.
But with the recent additions and with months to practice and grow as a team, Carson feels as though the sky is the limit, as long as the players push themselves to get better every time they practice.
“We focus on the little things during the spring,” he said. “We want to end the losing that this program has faced in recent years, and the signs we are seeing from this spring is a small gain in that direction.”
With greenhorns getting to touch the ball a bit more, the team is starting to come together.
Team building is often the toughest part of winning conference championships, and with a bright future ahead for the Bears, team building is crucial.
“Spring is always good thing for us,” Campbell said. “We need game time to really get used to playing alongside each other as we head into the fall. We have high hopes and know that this spring is the key to us playing well next fall.”
The Bears continue their spring schedule against the Lyon College Scots and the Central Baptist College Mustangs on March 15 at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex.