For the past two years, the Southwestern men's soccer team has lived in sudden-death overtime, with 12 of its 25 games over that span going past regulation, going undefeated with a 4-0-8 record. 

Fittingly, Southwestern's 2021 fall season went down to the wire and beyond, taking the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs into overtime in the last game of conference play with a spot in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Tournament on the line. 

Down a goal with a little under four minutes remaining, sophomore midfielder Skyler Frey set up a free-kick from 25 yards out and delivered a booming equalizer. 

"It showed a real resiliency going down a goal in an elimination game and Skyler hitting a rocket for a goal," Southwestern men's head soccer coach Dustin Norman says. "We were on top of [the Bulldogs] from 15 minutes on [after the first TLU goal] and came together as a group. Then, heading into golden goal, it was no different than any other overtime we've been through all season." 

Frey and the Pirates approached that free-kick and the ensuing overtime with the confidence of a group that has lived through it hundreds of times because, quite simply, they have. Walk past the soccer field on any random day, and any number of Pirates will be out there on their own time honing their craft. So when Frey stepped up to deliver in the closing minutes, he did it with the muscle memory of countless hours of repetition. 

"The amount of work we put in outside of practice is incredible," junior goalkeeper Jack Viles says. "Especially Skyler with his free-kicks, which he was able to use against TLU. It's just those little things that give us an edge as a team, and I'm proud of how hard everyone works." 

When Norman and assistant men's soccer coach Marco Carvalho took over the program four years ago, that work ethic became the first thing instilled in the program, weeding out those who didn't live by it and recruiting those for which it was a natural fit. It starts with a grueling fitness test to open each season. 

"It's pretty rough, but it's just to set the standard for the fitness we need coming in," Viles admits. "I think the training that comes after is even tougher with two-a-days to get you ready for the season." 

The work is evident in the team's ability to sustain its focus and energy levels even as play extends from one overtime to the next. In addition, the talent level has followed suit, adding all-conference players in each of the last three recruiting classes. 

Viles headlines Norman's first recruiting class at Southwestern, which also features two all-conference level midfielders in Ashton Bynum and Fernando Garduno-Jaramilo. The 6-foot-2 keeper from Scottsdale, Ariz., has anchored the stingiest defense in the SCAC in his first two full seasons starting in the net for the Pirates. 

This season, Viles set the Southwestern men's soccer record for most shutouts in a season with 10, allowing only 12 goals in 16 games with 42 saves on a .778 save percentage to become the first All-American in program history as a First Team selection. 

"Jack Viles has been the best goalkeeper in the conference for two years now, putting together an All-American season with numbers that rivaled or set new records for the program," Norman says. "He had a standout season, but a lot of those things rely on the other guys around him."

Norman's second recruiting class features formidable defensive players in two-time All-SCAC Second Team and All-Region Second Team defender Reagan Fortner and Eric Jorgensen, who teamed with 2021 SCAC All-Freshman team defender Luke Malone to help hold opponents to the fewest goals allowed (12) and lowest goals-against average (0.66). 

"The guys on defense are amazing. I'm never worried about the defense breaking down because it rarely happens. Even when we do get shot on, I'm never worried because we're so reliable back there on the defensive end," Frey says. "It makes my life a lot easier because I only have to worry about creating opportunities to score." 

Frey led a Southwestern offense that finally started coming into its own down the stretch, earning All-SCAC First Team and All-Region Second Team recognition for leading the Pirates with 13 points, scoring five goals, including three game-winners, and three assists. 

"I just try to be a catalyst out there, bringing up the pace of play and linking passes to create chances," Frey says of his success this season. "I'm pretty quick on the ball, which is always a factor, and I just try to go out and make plays." 

More important than the number of goals Southwestern scored was the myriad of ways it created its opportunities, relying a little less on the set pieces that have become so prevalent in today's game and diversifying its attack with counters and improvisational flair, stringing together multiple passes to create shots on goal. 

"We focus a lot on set pieces because that's one of the key ways a lot of teams score nowadays," Frey says. "But our transitional play has improved drastically since last year, and it obviously started to pay off with more goals." 

Over the past two years, Southwestern has added four forwards competing for two spots, with each adding their own unique skill sets. 

At 6-foot-4, sophomore Carr Panetta was a perfect target in set pieces, scoring two of his four goals off corner kicks from midfielder Nathaniel Blake, who led Southwestern with five assists. 

Jackson DeHaven provides a more balanced option, creating and finishing plays for himself and others with two goals and three assists this season. Caleb Allen was a threat in transition, using his pace to put two goals and adding an assist in traffic off a set-piece. And Mofe Ariyo returned from injury for the final nine games to produce two game-winners, showcasing a blend of athletic and technical brilliance in his scores. 

"It's the same with any sport where the more experience you get, the more the game slows down for athletes. The guys that were with us last year gained significant experience, and as they grew in confidence, their talent started to take over," Norman says. "As we got further into the season, we had a lot of guys grow into the roles we asked them to fulfill and saw dividends from it with more fluid movement, and hopefully over the next two years we can finish off possessions on a more regular basis." 

Southwestern has seen incremental gains over each of the past four seasons with enough foundations laid to see an even more significant leap once a few things start clicking in place, which is not unlike the story of senior Scott Wilson this season. 

Wilson broke through over the second half of the season as one of the most impactful defensive players in the SCAC while scoring two game-winners in his final three regular-season games, including the goal to push Southwestern past Texas Lutheran and clinch a spot in the conference tournament. 

"Scott is incredible. He was able to shut down dangerous attacking opportunities and facilitate well," Frey says. "And then his attacking output towards the end of the season was amazing, and he was able to capitalize on huge set pieces for us." 

The goals were the first of Wilson's college career and the realization of something Norman told him early on. 

"There was a moment his freshman year where he was having a tough time with the composure and confidence pieces of the game. I told him we have a plan for you, and we believe if you commit yourself, you can get the most out of it," Norman recalls. "There's no guarantee someone will find the success he had at the end, but he went from the guy everyone was trying to take advantage of to teams not even wanting to play down his side. He turned into a big-time defender for us. I think it was always there, he just had to grow into that confidence." 

Though Southwestern fell short in its championship goals in a loss to St. Thomas for a second consecutive year, Norman sees the same thing in the rest of the team, which plans to return everyone except Wilson, who will graduate. 

"We have everything we need to compete for championships in house," Norman proclaims. "We have the talent to more than meet that standard, and now it's about the commitment to do those little things along the way."