Price Hughes
Reporter
The Mississippi University for Women’s men’s soccer team dropped its home opener 4-1 to
USCAA opponent Concordia College Alabama on Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Although the team came up short, head coach Tim Gould believed that the game was an
important one for his young club.
“Tonight, we kind of had a match where we had to learn how to settle down and play
defensively,” said Gould. “We haven’t really run into that style of play yet from an opponent.”
The first part of the game saw the visitors from Selma, Ala., control ball possession and attack
the MUW defense for the majority of the half. Concordia scored early in the first half off of a
penalty kick and then added two more goals just before halftime. This left the Owls with a steep
hill to climb.
However, the second half told a different tale as The W saw a dramatic increase in the number
of offensive possessions. With this increase in possession, the Owls saw an increase in scoring
opportunities. It looked as though time was running out for the Owls in the second half until
first-year forward Josh Martin scored the Owls’ first and only goal of the night with an assist
from junior Paxton Bounds. This put the Owls on the scoreboard with a score 3-1 until
Concordia notched one final goal before time expired.
The loss brought The W’s record to 0-2- 1 on the season, with the tie coming against
Huntingdon College in the season opener, and the club’s previous loss coming to LaGrange
College. Meanwhile, Concordia improved to 3-0.
Now that it has three games under its belt, Gould is beginning to see certain aspects of this
team take shape.
“We’re getting better,” said Gould. “We’ve got guys that are stepping into leadership roles,
whether they’re freshmen, sophomores, juniors and one senior, that are all contributing and
getting better.”
Even though the Owls played an exhibition game at home earlier in the season against East
Central Community College, this game marked the inaugural regular season home opener for the
men’s soccer program.
Since then, the Owls traveled to Memphis, Tenn., to take on Rhodes College Saturday, Sept. 9
and Hendrix College on Sunday, Sept. 10. On Saturday, the Owls fell to Rhodes College 6-0.
Sunday, The W was locked in a defensive battle. Hendrix College scored the game’s only goal
in minute 76 to defeat the Owls 1-0. These two games brought MUW’s record to 0-4- 1 on the
season.
The Owls will travel to Jackson, Miss., to compete against Millsaps College Sept. 17. This
game will be followed by a trip to West Point, Ga., to play Point University Sept. 20. The W will
then return home to face Birmingham Southern on Sept. 24.