The Ashland University men’s soccer team started the 2022 campaign with an inconsistent start, going 1-3-1 in the first five games of the season. Due to the overall majority of the players being underclassmen, this was not a surprising start early in the season.

Suddenly after the shaky five first games, things started to mesh together for the Eagles. From Sep. 15 to Oct. 4 the Eagles won six straight games and improved their record to 7-3-1.

The latest game took place on Oct. 4 and was a big win for the Eagles beating Malone University by a final score of 4-2. In the game, junior Vander Rocha scored the first hat trick of his collegiate career.

“It’s a great feeling to score one goal in a game, so scoring three goals in a game was majestic,” said Rocha. 

Head Coach Nick Roberts is proud of the way his team has responded but knows they have to continue to give their best effort every game.

“We have to treat every game as if it’s a cup final, anybody can beat each other on any given day in this conference,” said Roberts.

The optimism for a strong finish is a common theme among players and coaches on the team. 

After a 6-2 start in the GMAC, the team has six conference games to close out the regular season.

A game plan new to the team this season has led to success and the players have confidence going forward to win the final conference games with it this year.

“We have a completely different defensive structure, stability in the middle, and a lot of presence to use going forward,” said sophomore Sam Jordan.

The Eagles will next put their new game plan to the test against another conference foe, the Cedarville Yellow Jackets. 

The Eagles and the Yellow Jackets have already squared off once this season, with the Eagles taking the win 1-0. The second meeting of the season is set for Oct 6. with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. from Ferguson Field.