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Soccer beats Northwood, falls to Central Michigan
By Sue DePassio
Collegian Reporter
Charger soccer
is on the move.
The team competed in a club team
round-robin event at Northwood University in Midland, Mich.,
Oct. 5.
The Chargers split the two games
they played, finishing in third place in the event.
The first-year team now has an
overall record of 2-1.
"We played tough throughout
the day; we shouldn't have lost at all," senior Sean Lanigan
said.
Senior Tom Burke said that the
team matched the level of its competitors, who played aggressively.
Hillsdale, Northwood, Central
Michigan University and Muskegon Community College competed
in the tournament.
Hillsdale played its first game
against Central Michigan. Burke said that the Chargers dominated
the game, but it was a heated match. There
were frequent fouls as both teams became overly aggressive.
It was a scoreless game until
the last minutes of the second half. After a Central Michgain
player fouled Burke in the penalty box, the Chargers were awarded
a penalty kick. Junior Ike Gray took the kick but missed.
"We needed to hit our chances,
especially on penalty kicks," freshman Ingar Nybakken said.
Afterward, senior Chris Felder,
who was playing goalkeeper in Joel Hall's place, "took
out" a Central Michigan player, Burke said.
"It was a professional foul,
Chris was doing his job as goalie," Burke said.
Nevertheless, Felder was given
a red card and forced to leave the game.
Gray was penalized soon after
for retaliation after a hard foul from Central Michigan.
At this point Hillsdale has just
nine players on the field, but the teams stayed evenly matched
in skills, and the game intensity increased.
Burke said that Hillsdale couldn't
find the back of the net, as numerous scoring opportunities
were created but never capitalized on.
The game ended when a Central
Michigan player finally knocked in a goal, making it a 1-0 loss
for the Chargers.
"There was a mental lapse
in our defense, and the [Central Michigan] player just maneuvered
around and scored," Lanigan said.
Since the Chargers lost, they
were paired to play the loser of the Northwood and Muskegon
match. Their second game was against Northwood.
The team was geared up for a victory
the second time around, and came out dominating the weaker competition.
Burke said that Northwood lacked talent and cohesion, so the
Chargers easily exploited their weaknesses to control the play
and pace of the game.
"We were firing on all cylinders,"
Burke said.
Nybakken said Northwood was unskilled and the Chargers were
much better. But Northwood's poor skills generated poor behavior
and bad fouls by its players.
Opportunities came easily against
Northwood, and the Chargers consistently scored goals.
Hillsdale came out with an 8-2
victory.
Burke said the afternoon was fun
for the team, and the tournament was a good thing for them to
participate in.
"We're playing very well,
and we are going to continue to work hard so that we don't give
up any cheap goals," Burke said.
Lanigan said he was satisfied
with the event and that "it was good for the team to bond
and compete on different levels."
The Chargers' game at Goshen College
was cancelled yesterday.
Hillsdale will play next in another
tournament at Northwood on Saturday, Oct. 25.
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