Men’s soccer team faced off against the Northwest Conference leading Pacific Boxers. After a battle that lasted through regulation and two overtime periods, the two teams reached a scoreless draw. This proved that the men’s Logger team is capable of matching up competitively with just about any other team in its conference.
The Boxers did manage to take 18 shots opposed to the mere 3 of the Loggers; however, the defense continued to shine. And as it is the case with just about every sport, establishing a fundamentally sound defensive unit is the key to a solid offense.
Junior Captain and defender Marcus Rudd (Seattle, WA) explained, “The team worked extremely hard and fought for every ball. We had a hunger to never let down.”
This “hunger” transitioned nicely over to the Logger’s game the following day against the George Fox Bruins. Within the first half, a Logger ball reached the back of the Bruin’s net on 3 separate occasions. Freshmen forward Andrew White (Steamboat Springs, CO) contributed 2 of the eventual 4 goals as the Loggers were able to enjoy a 4-0 victory.
In this game, the Loggers outshot its opponent 13-4, with 6 of those shots being on goal. Junior goalkeeper Chris McDonald (Newton, MA) continued to shine, not allowing a goal the entire weekend. Much of his success, however, must be attributed to the rest of the defense as well. It’s much easier to shutout teams when only 4 balls reach the goalkeeper.
The Loggers are now 6-2-4, sitting 4th in conference. But as Rudd will tell you, the focus needs to immediately shift to the upcoming weekend. On Sunday the 10th, the Logger men will face off against dreaded rival from Parkland, Pacific Lutheran University, who sits just one game ahead of the Loggers in the conference standings.
In order to beat the Lutes, Rudd believes, “The team will need to come out with the same intensity and hunger that we had this last weekend to be successful against PLU. They are a well coached team with some good players, but we’ll be ready for them.”
This Puget Sound men’s soccer team is young, but it has become obvious that they are all meshing together as one unit, and success is destined. The lone senior captain on the team, Kyle Benson (Mukilteo, WA), agrees with Rudd. Benson stated, “We worked hard this weekend and are pleased with our results. Our intense pressure on the ball and work rate off the ball lead us to go toe to toe with Pacific and then beat George Fox.” This unity and fluidity is essential in the game of soccer. And each week the team seems to be improving upon these concepts.