By Arielle Gordon
With a roster that is two deep at almost every position, the Colorado College men’s soccer team is taking advantage of its youthful energy.
While its 5–4 record might not show it, the Tigers are coming together as a team, and are looking to improve as they enter their first of nine consecutive SCAC games.
“We are emerging from a bit of a rough patch, but we managed to right the ship this Friday with an overtime win over Johnson and Wales,” midfielder Miles Montgomery ’21 said. “We have a great opportunity to keep building positive momentum this weekend with our conference play starting up, and we fully expect to do so.”
Midfielder Griffin Meyer ’23 felt that their win last week against Johnson & Wales University was just the boost the Tigers needed as they face SCAC opponents University of St. Thomas and Centenary College on the road this weekend. They played both teams at home earlier this season, and won 1–0 and 5–4, respectively.
The way the schedule worked out this season, the Tigers have already played five of their SCAC opponents in non-conference games. This gives them confidence going into conference play. Now they know what they will be up against, but this makes the other four games even harder.
“We’ve seen these teams once before, so we should be confident,” Meyer said. “This weekend, we’re going to play in Texas and Louisiana; we beat both of these teams when they came and visited us. It’s encouraging knowing that we can beat these teams.”
The team has its sights set on winning the SCAC tournament and then playing in the NCAA tournament. The team is looking forward to playing SCAC opponents and proving itself in the conference. One of the biggest opponents it will face is consistent conference leader Trinity University. The Tigers will only face them once this season, but it will be a home game on Oct. 27.
“I am most excited to continue getting on the field with my teammates,” Montgomery said. “In terms of one game, our game against Trinity University is always a big one, and this year, it comes at a crucial part of the season right before the conference tournament.”
The Tigers will be on the road this weekend, before returning home to take on Southwestern University and Texas Lutheran University during Homecoming Weekend. They will hit the road for two games against Austin College and the University of Dallas before finishing out the regular season game at home with three final conference games. The SCAC conference tournament will be Nov. 8—10 in San Antonio, TX.
“Over the last week, we’ve gotten through those issues that we were having in the past weeks, so I think we’re in a position right now where as a group we can really take off these next couple weeks starting conference play,” Meyer said.
Entering conference play, the Tigers are sitting in 5th place in the SCAC. Texas Lutheran University is in first place with a 6—2—1 record and Trinity is in fourth place with a 4—2—2 record. Their goal is to finish the season in first or second place in the conference.