UMW men’s soccer soars through Coast-to-Coast tournament for third year in a row

by MADISON FRY

Staff Writer

On Nov. 8, the University of Mary Washington men’s soccer team secured the win against Salisbury University after two overtimes and seven rounds of penalty kicks in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinal round.

“It was a very level game. We’ve played this team twice this year already, so we knew they were going to be able to adapt to us quite well and they did,” said team captain and goalkeeper, Freddy Rogers, a senior marketing major. “I think if we play better during our next game then we’ll probably get the job done in normal time.”

After a successful regular season with only one loss against the University of Virginia’s Division I team, the UMW Eagles were awarded the home advantage as host of the tournament. 

“It shows school spirit, school pride, and a sense of community that we’re supportive of one another. It means a lot to see this kind of student engagement,” said University President Troy Paino.

The first goal of the game was made by Salisbury player Tanner Calzado 34 minutes into the game. UMW’s Sammy Amorose, a junior biology major, would even score with a goal assisted by senior political science major Carter Berg and senior business administration major Jordy Sanata 68 minutes into the game. The game remained tied 1–1 after 110 minutes of playing time. 

There were attempted goals from both teams and Rogers expressed how he felt during those high-pressure moments. 

“As a keeper, you don’t want to be involved in a game because it means your team is doing well,” he said. “But when you can come up big for your team, it’s a good feeling.” 

Because this was an elimination game, both teams went into the shootout hoping to come out with the victory. The Eagles shot first and scored, going back and forth for seven rounds until a goal by Santana and a final save by Rogers ended the game. The Eagles topped Salisbury 5–4 in the shootout. 

“I know that I can trust them to step up and do a job and sink that penalty,” said Gabe Francesconi, a graduate student obtaining his master’s in business administration and one of the team captains. 

Rogers says completing the come-from-behind win was satisfying, even if the team did not necessarily play their strongest game.  

“Honestly, we can be better, but I think my favorite moment was just seeing the boys come together and push through adversity together, especially when it came to overtime,” he said.

When considering what the team did well during their game, Francesconi agreed that the team had strong perseverance.

“I think we fought well in terms of our overall tactical and technical awareness today,” said Francesconi. “It just was not on par with where we are normally at. But, we have resiliency, and I think that’s the most important factor in our performance today.”

The Eagles went on to beat Christopher Newport University to win their third consecutive Coast-to-Coast Championship. Their next match is Nov. 16 where they will host William Peace University for the first round of the men’s Division III soccer tournament.