By Colton Waters
Edgewood College Men’s soccer team fell to Dominican University 2-1 in a chilly, quick-hitting match Oct. 13.
Edgewood’s leading goal scorer, Garrett Lee, put the Eagles up one in the game’s first 10 minutes, but that effort was negated as Dominican answered with two goals midway through the first half.
The visiting Stars rode their one goal lead to the finish line, heading back to Illinois with an overall record of eight wins and five losses, and a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference record of five and three.
Following the loss, the Eagles’ record dropped to seven wins, five losses, and two draws.
However, Head Coach Derek Helmer said he remains optimistic about the team’s performance in conference. “We started off with four games against four of the strongest teams in the NACC,” Helmer said. “We have proved that we can play with anyone in our conference and hold our own.”
“We played conference leading MSOE (Milwaukee School of Engineering) to a 2-3 game and felt that we had missed on some great chances to tie or win.”
Like Helmer’s attitude regarding their close loss to MSOE, much of the Eagles’ season has been defined by their ability to keep one eye on the silver lining.
The Eagles have maintained a winning record this season despite the obstacles they’ve faced in game preparation.
“We do not know where we’re going to practice almost every single day,” Helmer said. “We have a grass practice field that we can use, but with the rain this fall, we’ve only used it four times.”
Calls are made daily to places like Madison College, Breeze Stevens Stadium, and Edgewood High School in hopes of access to a turf field, putting the team at a constant competitive disadvantage.
Helmer said other schools were not having to experience this uncertainty, but he said the players have been very accommodating and are trying to handle it the best they can.
Fortunately, Helmer’s optimism appears to be a theme throughout the whole team, including the 20 freshmen who have been successfully assimilated into the squad this season, a task of team chemistry that is not easily accomplished.
As their season comes to a head, the Eagles’ attention lies firmly on qualifying for the NACC tournament. “Our number one goal this year is to qualify for the conference tournament,” Helmer said.
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