Last week’s win over Ripon College scored the men’s soccer team a spot in the conference tournament, making this the second year in a row that the team has qualified. Not only did the men’s hard work help to clinch this win, their team chemistry played a strong hand as well.
Qualifying for Conference is extremely difficult. The top four highest scoring teams in the Midwest Conference qualify for the tournament. The winning team in each game is awarded three points, but in case of a tie one point is awarded.
“The most important game to win this year was against Cornell College, and they were the ones that were closet to us in number of points that could have potentially knocked us out of the tournament. And we beat them early in the season off of a 1-0 win, and that was an early indicator that we were on the right track,” said Antonio DiMarco ’18.
Coach Brian Jaworski has seen notable improvements from the team this current season. “The team has improved in many ways over the course of the season. If I had to pick one area, I would say our communication is most improved,” said Jaworski in an email to The S&B.
“I’d say that a big part of the season was working on our team cohesion,” said Franciso Sanchez ’18.
Doubling as friends and teammates helped the team to collectively improve their playing while allowing them to build lasting friendships, on and off the field. The personal connections that the players have with one another has helped to enhance their performance, something that is evident in this year’s season.
“We have been together for four years, we’ve been friends for four years, we’ve spent countless hours on the field together for four years, it’s physical in games in practices,” said Artis Curiskis ’18.
“We’re reading each other’s minds at this point of the year,” laughed DiMarco.
Qualifying for conference is meaningful to all of the players on the team, but especially the fourth-years.
“We never qualified for [the Conference Tournament] our first and second year, and last year was the first time we actually made it to the Conference Tournament, and I think we all realized what a big deal it was. … So making it this year means that we can end our senior year on the right now and how we want it,” Curiskis added.
The captains feel that qualifying for the Conference Tournament last year set a precedent to the players. This year, the entire soccer team will travel to Conference. The captains hope that the experience will serve as inspiration for the underclassmen, but the freshmen specifically, to continue this streak.
“We have a large first class this year…they will be able to see that this is the end goal that you work for the entire season, and once you have that in mind, it’s easier to be motivated,” said Curiskis.