For a free flowing game played on a wide open field, soccer is a sport of very small margins. The difference between a goal and blown opportunity can be a matter of centimeters in where the ball leaves the foot, and the difference between victory and defeat is often just that one goal. 

The Southwestern University Pirates men's soccer team entered this season's conference tournament with an almost identical record to the 2018 version that took Trinity to penalty kicks in the championship match to earn the program's first berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

This year, a single goal by Austin College's Isaiah Wingeier-Rayo late in they first half of the conference tournament opener ended the Pirates' season in the first round. 

Though falling on the wrong side of these small margins can be painful, Head Coach Dustin Norman believes it can be a useful lesson in process over results coming out of his second season running the program. 

"We play a sport that can be really cruel sometimes. We went into the conference tournament with the same record, essentially the same roller coaster, and Austin College kicked a goal in the first half on a set piece even though we felt we were on the front foot," Norman said. "But we created nearly as many opportunities as we did in any game all season and the ball didn't fall for us. When that happens, it can be disappointing." 

Looking at this season through the lens of last year's surprising success can muddle the view of the growth the program took this season. In a year with a fair amount of roster turnover and as many as six first years starting every game, the Pirates created more opportunities even if they didn't always fall .

The Pirates' intended starting lineup opened the season against Mary Hardin-Baylor, who defeated Southwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a year earlier, and battled them to a 1-1 double overtime draw. Due to injuries, that lineup never saw the field again until the last game of the season. 

In between those two games, Southwestern sustained several other key injuries and a host of lineup and roster changes. Still, the Pirates managed to put together a second strong season at 10-7-2, highlighted by an early six-game winning streak and victories over NCAA Tournament participants Texas Lutheran University and Colorado College, earning four all-conference players.

"To be quite honest, we're ahead of where I thought we'd be at this point, now having two 10-win seasons at the helm," Norman said. "When I walked in, I thought it'd be more of an uphill battle but we've had more people who've bought in than I thought we would and that gives you a chance for success."

Norman and assistant coach Marco Carvalho have set a high price for buying in, ensuring no team in the conference will outwork the Pirates, who consistently make every team play Southwestern on the Pirates' terms. 

"We create an intense environment," Norman said. "When the whistle blows, there's very little we control as coaches, so the cauldron we put [the players] through in training is truly intense in order to prepare them for anything." 

Those who have committed have seen rapid, steady improvement, from seniors Wil Mekelburg and Logan Jenkins to first years like Richard Maybury, along with a number of other players, creating a culture of success. 

"It's not the two hours we have you that we're most worried about, it's the 22 we don't," Norman said. "I talk a lot about how you're either adding or taking away, there is no middle ground. Are you doing extra individually, getting into the training room, thinking about the game, are you bringing guys together?" 

Those traits were found in first year Fernando Garduno-Jaramilo, an All-SCAC honorable mention midfielder from Pflugerville with a high work rate and incredible vision who was awarded with a captain's band this season. 

"His commitment to improving and being the best he can be are second to absolutely no one," Norman said. "His demeanor when things are going well or poorly, whether he's doing fitness or something difficult, is exactly what you want as a coaching staff."

Those traits were also found throughout the roster. Seniors like Mekelburg and Jenkins were present during harder times for the program and during last year's success, buying into a new head coach asking them to do new things. 

Jenkins returned from an injury-plagued 2018 to turn in an unsung performance on the defensive side this season. 

"There's nothing you could ask that Logan wouldn't do. He just had a winning mindset and great attitude," Norman said. "Teams did not want to attack on his side because how hard he tackled and the effort he put into defending." 

Mekelburg was often seen lumbering up the field for throw-ins, marking the Pirates preferred style of pace and set pieces. But the slow gait in these situations belied his ability to cover the field on the defensive end and the all-around growth of his skill set. 

"Wil's growth as a player and voice in the back and impact on the field is going to be missed," Norman said. "The throw-ins kind of overshadow the player he is. He might've had as many assists off service pieces this year with his foot as he did with throw-ins. Wil gave us a lot." 

His work on the defensive end, along with Brendan Dauth and Garrison Van Houten, have keyed the Pirates in the early going of this new era. Though Dauth struggled with injuries this season, Van Houten developed into an All-SCAC Second Team player. 

"Garrison, as far as a guy who cares and wants the program to do its best regardless of the role he is asked to play, is willing to do anything and do it to the best of his ability," Norman said. "He's a superb athlete who is always out at the field working on different pieces to improve. He's in the weight room, in the training room, it's impressive to watch.

"Realistically, he might be the guy who has seen the most growth of any player over the past two years."

It was a good example to set for players like Maybury, who even when injured would head to the field to shag balls for teammates working on their games. 

"He just wanted to help, wanted to know how he could serve his purpose," Norman said. "And that is such a great reflection of what we want in our program from our players. Just relishing being part of the program and making an impact any way they can." 

The Pirates leave 2019 with a strong foundation. Next year's senior class will include defensive stalwarts Dauth, Van Houten, and Michael Glode, who became an impact player over the second half of the season; along with Luis Ramirez, who was a kind of talisman for the Pirates' up-and-coming midfield unit for Southwestern, along with Ashton Bynum and Garduno-Jaramilo, who completed their first year. 

"Fernando and Ashton grew immensely. Sometimes when you bring in big-time players, it doesn't mean they'll contribute right away," Norman said. "Some flake out and some surprise beyond belief and I thought they more than rose to the occasion of our expectations for them." 

They also have Seth Holzmann, a forward with multiple game-winners this season, who was just rounding into form by the end of his sophomore season after taking a year away from the sport. Add those players and a number of other breakout candidates to Norman and Caravalho's first complete year recruiting class next season and the Pirates process is further along than its finish. 

"It's about putting in a little more every day to improve," Norman said. "Potential comes in drops and we're looking to fill the bucket.

"It's going to take time but we feel the things we've done so far, even though we didn't get to the national tournament again—if you take a step back and look at the improvement in what we asked them to do, how young the roster averaged out to be—there's some real hope moving forward that if we follow through on the process we've laid out, there's a chance the program can grow to be the juggernaut we want it to be."