An icy gust of wind chilled the shivering fans on Mustang Stadium’s bleachers, foreshadowing a cold, unforgiving loss for the Stevenson Men’s Club Soccer players. This past Saturday at 5 p.m., the Mustangs conceded two goals in the second half of their match against Salisbury University, ending in a 2-1 defeat.
The game disappointingly reflected the team’s performance against York College of Pennsylvania on April 6, in which they dominated most of the game, but gave up a goal minutes before the match ended.
While the Mustangs only tied against York 1-1, many of the players believe the outcome should have been different.
“We should have comfortably won that game. We dominated. For me, it felt like a loss,” second-year Fawaz Sanusi said.
Despite a disheartening two weeks, the Mustangs are optimistic about the team’s potential under new head coach, Justin Hutchinson.
“He’s making the team more like a family, keeping each other accountable. When it’s time for games, be serious, no messing around,” Sanusi said.
The Stevenson Men’s Club Soccer team emphasizes the value of family, not only between the players, but off the field as well. Their first goal against York was scored by fourth-year Daniel Ekane.
“He ran to his family in the stands. There were about 10 members of his family right there, all happy. It was just really nice to see him score in front of his family,” third-year Adam Abdur-Rahman said.
The upperclassmen are also excited to see the prospective roster for the coming fall season, as a plethora of talented first-year recruits have flooded the field.
“We [have] about 15 freshmen. It’s a big part of our team right now, and a lot of them are starting in the fall season,” Abdur-Rahman said.
One of these first-years included left-back Rocco Delgaudio, an influential player in both games.
“It was a tough one. They definitely played physical,” Delgaudio said. “We lack intensity in the warmups and practices. If we get more of that up, we’ll have a good game, a good fight.”
The Mustangs will play Mount St. Mary’s College this coming Friday at 7 p.m. They look to improve their performance and finish the season strong.
“I think something we really need to work on is don’t let our heads down. We need to see the game through, all 80 minutes,” Abdur-Rahman said.
