Men's Soccer News

Wilmington 2 - Centre 1

When we boarded the bus on Thursday evening to make the 3 hour trip north to Wilmington , OH , there was a real sense of excitement and anxiousness. This was our first road trip of the season, and after 4 weeks of being at home, everyone was undoubtedly ready to get away. This is a young group of players that, after graduating 9 seniors from last years squad plus the addition of several newcomers, are still learning about each other and looking to find their “personality.” Being on the road can help that, as our support system is strictly ourselves. This becomes even more apparent and important when you deal with adversity, as we would with Wilmington on Friday night.

We knew that Wilmington would be our toughest test to date, so the boys were excited and ready to kick-off after hanging out in the hotel most of the day. Following a back and forth first few minutes, we settled down a bit and began to knock the ball around. Wilmington plays a 4-3-3 that really presses our outside backs and to start, we handled the pressure very well. It wouldn't take long for Centre to put a point on the board, as senior captain David Horne ( Louisville , KY ) would put home his second goal of the season in the 14 th minute. Following some beautiful combination play that came from the back, senior striker Derek Roberts ( Knoxville , TN ) would slot through a ball to Horne who was making a forward run out of the midfield. Horne would beat his defender and bend in a ball away from the Wilmington goalkeeper that would notch the score at 1-0. From there, Centre continued to control most aspects of the game, but Wilmington would still get their opportunities as Chris Creger (Charleston, SC) would need to make 6 saves in the half to keep the score 1-0 at the break.

To start the second period, it became very apparent from the beginning that Wilmington was going to come out strong and our guys struggled to handle their pressure. Just 5 minutes into the half, Wilmington would equalize followed by the go-ahead goal just 3 minutes later. Our slow start coupled with Wilmington 's willingness to press was all they needed to turn the game around. We would settle down after their second goal and really started to move the ball around, and create chances. It just wouldn't be our night however, and the game would end with Wilmington up 2-1.

This game was scheduled for this reason. To give our guys a very good test leading up to conference play in two weeks. This is, no doubt, a special team and will do some very good things this season. This loss allows them to regroup, come together, and in the end, become a better team. Fortunately, the guys wouldn't have to dwell on this loss very long, as the following evening we would face Wittenberg University .