Soccer goes up north

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Soccer goes up north

This past weekend, both the women’s and men’s club soccer teams drove to Petoskey, MI to compete against other college club soccer teams. Their intentions were not solely to claim victory, but also to strengthen their teams’ skills and unity.

“Being with eight or nine new guys on the squad, the big thing is building chemistry and the combination of our fitness levels,” vice president Thomas Ohlgren said. “We should end up with five wins and five losses hopefully, if not more (wins). We have a better squad than we did last year. We have a lot of talented guys on the team.”

The men’s club soccer team lost all three games by one goal. They played against Michigan Tech University and lost 1-0. In the game against Saginaw Valley State University, junior Aaron Tracey scored a goal and the team lost 2-1. Senior Luke Mugge and Ohlgren scored against Northern Michigan University. The defense allowed three goals, however, and the final score was 3-2.

Peter Thistleton, president of the men’s team, said, “Obviously no one is ever satisfied with a loss, but at the same time we saw a lot of improvement from the team at the end of the week. I was glad where the team was.”

The women’s club soccer team lost its two games in Petoskey. The game against Grand Valley State University ended in a loss of 9-0. With only 11 players for their second game, the women’s team held Saginaw Valley State University at 0-0 until the first half and in the second half one goal slipped past them, causing them to lose 1-0.

Geneva Oster, president of the women’s team, said, “looking purely at statistics we are getting better and better. We are working more cohesively as a team.”

Sophomore Larissa Yashko, vice president of the women’s club soccer team, agreed that the team is moving forward in a positive direction and believes “that what we need to work on is building the attack through our outside midfielders and hopefully get more shots on the goals.”

Aside from seeking to grow as a team, the lack of funds has become a serious issue for both the women’s and men’s club soccer teams. Both are attempting to become varsity sports on Hillsdale’s campus.

“[Finance] is another thing that impedes us from becoming more of a serious team,” Oster said. “If I could, I would have twenty games in one season, but our budget can’t handle that.”

In the hopes of decreasing their financial issues, both teams will fundraise throughout the school year with alumni assistance, bake sales, car washes, and selling programs during football games.

The men and women will have their first and only home game Sept. 30.