Last week, the Augustana men’s soccer team won its third game this season in a 4-1 battle against Central College. So far, the team has a record of 3-1-1 and has had many positives. Head coach Chad Flanders recognizes the importance of these positives the team has shown early in the season.
“I think it’s great for the guys and for their confidence,” Flanders said. “Making some strides on a lot of things we worked on, whether it’s the attacking part of finishing runs and getting balls into certain areas of the field so we can score, but also just the defensive side of things, of being really tight and stingy.”
One key factor so far this season that has helped has been the team chemistry between the players. The team returned 18 previous players from last year, and there have been 13 newcomers. But on the field, they all play for each other.
“I think our togetherness helps out,” senior Ben Statz said. “We have a tendency to start off a little bit slow, but when we all go out. We put that jersey on, and we all just want to go out there and play for each other. So I think the fact that we’re willing to do anything for each other helps us to compete against other teams.”
As the season has gone on, the team made several adjustments to its playing style, resulting in its best start since 2013.
“We’ve been trying to be very organized defensively,” Flanders said. “The key is, if we lose possession, we’re trying to win it back right away within five seconds. If we can’t, we’re getting dropped off and very organized in our lines, so it’s hard to play through us.”
So far the new changes have been working as the Vikings have only allowed three goals so far this season.
“And I think when we’ve done that, we’ve really frustrated the other team, and then they resort to just playing the ball over the top, and then that’s rolling out of bounds, and we go from there,” Flanders said.
With a start to a new season also means challenges that need to be addressed. One of those issues is balancing soccer and school work, and for the 13 newcomers it has slowly become easier.
“I knew we were going to have trouble with time commitments for a lot of guys, especially newer guys,” Statz said. “Being a student athlete isn’t always the easiest thing. It’s a lot you have to do. So I knew there was going to be some struggles with some of our younger guys, so its up to us upperclassmen to guide them and show them the way.”
Through it all, though, the team hopes to continue building upon its momentum heading into conference play. Junior Zach Beckman knows the team still needs to build on the momentum it acquired through the first couple of matches of the season.
“I see the season going in a positive direction,” Beckman said. “Hopefully we can build on it and just continue doing what we’re doing at a higher level. With conference games coming to a start soon, it’s going to be more of a challenge, and so we just have to keep playing and just continue to get better every day at practice and take it into the games.”