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Soccer club ends first season with 3-1-1 record
By Sue DePassio
Collegian Reporter
The men's
club soccer team finished their first season with a 7-1 victory
Monday night over the Tri-State University Thunder.
The Chargers ended their season with a 3-1-1 record. They said
that although they are satisfied with this season's results,
they are already looking forward to next year.
"We had a real good time
and put up some solid results. This was the first ever .500
season we've had in my tenure at Hillsdale," senior Tom
Burke said.
"This was a bridge year,
so now there can be a future for the team."
Burke said he is proud of the
season's success and the encouraging response from the college.
The encouragement from the college
was evident at Monday night's game, which was attended by a
large group of Hillsdale fans.
"It's great to have an outlet
again for the soccer enthusiasts of Hillsdale," said junior
Bentley Graves, who recently returned to the team after recovering
from an injury sustained in preseason.
The Chargers met the Thunder on
a cold and wet afternoon, but the inclement conditions didn't
steal the thunder from the Chargers.
Hillsdale concentrated on using
the full field, and kept players spread wide to create openings
for transitions.
The team was goal-oriented, and
netted two quick goals from juniors Andrew Rodney and Ike Gray
within the first five minutes of the game.
Hillsdale consistently played
the ball on the ground, creating and exploiting opportunities
for fast breakaways. Tri-State, in contrast, was passing with
long lobs, which the Chargers easily intercepted and controlled.
The only problems the Chargers
ran into were offside calls, which slowed their momentum.
Hillsdale played with patience
and added three more goals, one each from Graves, freshman Deryk
Schlessinger and junior Jay Wilson.
Graves' goal was his first of
the season since he returned from his injury.
The Chargers led 5-0 at halftime,
and when they returned to play in the second half, they came
out booming, rapidly firing multiple shots on goal.
Although the Chargers never let
up the pressure, they couldn't take advantage of scoring opportunities,
and in the final minutes of the game the Thunder finally scored
on a free kick.
In return, the Chargers added
two more goals-one by Wilson and the other a header goal by
senior Sean Lanigan off a cross from Wilson.
"The game was very productive,"
senior Chris Felder said. "We came out with the attitude
to win and did it."
The Chargers played in another
round-robin tournament at Northwood University last Saturday.
Hillsdale tied Muskegon Community
College, 3-3, in their only match of the afternoon.
Although the Chargers played a
hard, sharp game, they couldn't finish for a victory, said Burke.
"We had to content ourselves
with the tie even though we deserved a win."
The Chargers' 12 players left
them with only one substitute, so Muskegon's full bench gave
them the advantages of endurance and frequent fresh legs.
Their game scheduled against Northwood
on Saturday was cancelled because Northwood did not have enough
players to compete.
Felder said that the whole season
was impressive for its first year, and he was glad to finish
it on a positive note.
"The season had much more
of a relaxed atmosphere…it was a good start for future
players," Felder said.
Burke said that plans for next
season are in progress. Gray and Wilson have shown interest
in taking over the team, and they will meet with Athletic Director
Mike Kovalchik next week to work out details.
The team's schedule for next season
is already being arranged. It will feature more games, many
of which will be played at home.
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