GEORGETOWN, Texas - The Southwestern men's soccer team went 0-1-1 this weekend, playing in two neutral site games on the campus of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
On Saturday the Pirates faced Rowan University, a team that advanced to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Championship Tournament and received top 25 votes. But the team would have to wait to begin their first match of the season, with weather conditions delaying the game significantly.
Once the Pirates did hit the field they wasted no time finding the back of the net. Carr Panetta scored three minutes into the game with the help of Skyler Frey and Michael Grimm to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
"It was an unusual first game with the longest weather delay of my coaching career. We came out sharp but lacked energy in the first half", says Head Coach Dustin Norman.
Rowan responded to the Pirate's goal with two goals of their own to give them the lead 2-1 at the end of the first half.
The Pirates generated six shots in the second half as opposed to only two in the first and had four corner kick opportunities. Despite all of their chances, Southwestern was unable to find the back of the net again and fell to Rowan on a final score of 2-1.
"We responded well in the second half but we just weren't able to convert on the opportunities we created, but the second half of this game is 45 minutes we can build on", said Norman.
In the second game of their San Antonio trip, the Pirates took on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags, a team that also received preseason top 25 votes. The Pirates struggled to gain any offensive traction throughout the match while the Stags put up a blistering 14 shots in the first half alone.
"The second game of a two-game weekend is always a grind in college soccer, today wasn't our best in possession and attack. Give credit to the guys, it was the best defensive effort I could have hoped for, our effort off the ball was excellent and that's something we can certainly build off of."
The Pirates weathered a total of 25 shots and a 16-1 corner kick advantage in favor of the Stags. All-American Goalkeeper Jack Viles was able to make nine saves on nine shots on goal to keep the Pirates in the game and shut out the Stags.
"This weekend was a great opportunity to measure ourselves against two national tournament level teams, we more than held our own. We'll recover, learn, train, and go again next weekend", says Coach Norman.
Men's Soccer will have another two-game stint, this time in Richardson, Texas where they will play the UT Dallas Comets on Friday, September 9th at 8:00 pm then the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys on Sunday, September 11th at 1:00 pm.