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Show ess WESTMINSTERFORUM.NET Hie coming season in men s soccer - The Griffins break three game losing streak f . 'C Jt tr Ernesto Negrete Staff Writer I: ' f ; . l i t 1 t ' f , ' . t t; t i -f . 4 S v - i i i . r k s if i. .Jl i :u . t.; V 1 - . 1 1 i , f i 4 Vt 1 i M - 4 F ll ? ; V' - ' i f Ifl i - 5 t t i ft i -- ! A " t S 1, . . - , ' t ' . r ' f f w !v: " t' xTc 4 V - , . ! 1 , - T 1 "I H 4 i V:: - . -- : . r -- t t I k T 1 i - 3 - . ; - F) r r. I - : n1 - 1 If If ; ( 3 warms up before a game. A"' - --? I !- - 'If J ' I- - ; t f-- The mens soccer team i-- ;t5f 1 ! FS 4 5 - U J. ASb f r 1 I Jr. i .( . 5 toe-to-t- oe V t t I I f i i r ' !i it J win the game. Westminster went against MidAmerica Nazarene Saturday, Sept. 6 on Dumke Field in a game that carries momentum for their upcoming season. MidAmerica Nazarene scored early in the first quarter leaving Westminster the challenge to fight back to claim victory on their home field. After the half, Westminster came back onto the field with a renewed ; L-'- ir--U-i - The Westminster mens soccer team showed their fighting spirit in a recent game breaking a three game losing streak to come back from a one point deficit to ' "r - J f I rii, Ul 4 , fv . , f f - i a f l; ' iy . "V I I -j r' - &Ms .It UTl'lH spirit and started their attack against MidAmerica Nazarene. A kick by Spencer Luczak (No. 2) from the far upper left corner tied the game. The game eventually went into double overtime and with two minutes left the final goal was made by Jeff Gardner (No.4) to send MidAmerica off the field with bowed heads. Gardner redirected the ball from a corner kick on the right side to the goal. The final shot won the game and ended the Griffins three game losing streak to give them their first win of the season. Gardner said, We struggled early, but we fought through and played hard. We have a good team. We have a lot of new guys that didnt play much last year, but those new guys are stepping up. There is still a good portion of the season left to play, but with this performance a curtain has been lifted to give fans a glimpse of whats ahead. The team has gone through some transitions from last season from players leaving to attitudes changing. three-ye- ar player on According to Gary Gonzales, a the team, one of the changes on the team is attitude. He said This year there is a lot less attitude and a lot less prima donnas, there is more bonding that turns into better team play which leads to a stronger team f 'V. - w.tn When youre Utah's largest ski resort, big numbers the territory; 3,700 seres. 1 63 traSs. 1 7 lifts. But dont fret the cr. number you need to know is ora. As m one sesccn, pess gets Lee you 83 of that, plus coundess peris end fctSHseason et that, you ridrit even need a csct-- tor. Cl u overall. a stronger team comes the responsibility to raise the level of play, and when the level of play raises the teams they face become more challenging. Gonzalez said, Thd biggest challenge this year is level teams as opposed to last season ;x- vjIio can. do maSSi PeopleITIhte Canyons Is agree: U2ais Eaesfi deal. core With facing higher With ten to eleven seniors leaving the team, this year is shaping up to be something different for the players. stiff competition and They are learning to stand up to work together as a team. Head Coach Chris Dorich said the challenges the team faces this year may be difficult and in order to match the level of play other teams bring to the field he says, We have to learn to play at different speeds than what were use to. Coming home from a 3 weekend in California helped Dorich put things into 0-- t perspective for the season. He said, We played top ranked teams out there, but it helped us set the standard for ourselves. The level of play out of state is high and we have to match up. The team made it to playoffs last year, but lost. This year they face challenges other than reaching the playoffs, they have to come together as a team, learned how to play at a higher level than what they are accustomed to and trust their freshman and sophomores to step up at crucial times. Dorich has a career record of 226 wins, 211 losses and 24 ties. In his coaching career Westminster has made 18 playoff appearances and had 15 winning seasons. Last season he led the team to a and a trip to the record of 9-7- -2 Tri-Confere- Tournament. The team looks sharp, tough and ready to play opponents coming from out of state. Dorich philosophy of play is simple. In order for us to get better, we have to play teams that are good, he said. By the looks of their comeback victory, the Griffins are not afraid of a little competition. SEPTEMBER 15, V HIM- 2009 |