UMW men’s soccer claw back from defeat against St. Mary’s with three second-half goals
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Graduate students #8 Diego Guzman and #20 Jared DuBose watch for action on the pitch. | Abbey Magnet, The Weekly Ringer
by ALANAH MULLER
Staff Writer
On Oct. 2, the University of Mary Washington’s men’s soccer team defeated St. Mary’s College of Maryland by a score of 3–1. With this game, the Eagles continue the winning streak that has propelled them to the number-one rank in the nation for the fourth consecutive week.
The game started strongly in favor of St. Mary’s with an early goal by St. Mary’s freshman Zach Blaum. With such a strong display right out of the gate, it was clear this would be a competitive game.
“St. Mary’s was a tough game,” said senior Spanish major Joel Albritton. “We did not come out strong like we have in other games. They took advantage of that and put the pressure on us early.”
However, the Eagles came back after halftime to the game with an early second-half goal from graduate student Julian Schmugge. According to senior marketing major and goalkeeper Freddy Rogers, this goal was the spark that ignited the Eagle’s comeback.
“Schmugge had a fantastic goal to start our comeback and we were relentless from then on,” he said.
The Eagles struck again just three minutes later with a goal from graduate student Nelsar Castillo which was assisted by senior business administration major Jordy Santana and senior business administration major Gabe Francesconi.
UMW would score again in the 78th minute with a goal by senior accounting and psychology double major Blake Hoskins. This goal would give UMW the lead with a score of 3–1, which the Eagles would defend until the end of the match.
Rogers says that staying mentally resilient and focused is pertinent to having a winning team.
“I think we showed a good amount of mental resilience to come back from conceding an early goal,” he said. “It’s a sign of a good team if they can pick each other up and focus on the task at hand.”
The Eagle’s next match is Oct. 12 where they will take on Christopher Newport University at home.
“We have performed very well this year, but I think that will be the key for us going forward, to treat every game we play as the most important. If we do that, any team we play is going to have a tough time beating us,” said Albritton.
