Monmouth College’s men’s soccer squad sits at one game under .500 on the season, with a 2-3-3 record, but their play on the field has proved what great potential this young team has.

Most notably has been the tremendous defensive effort, stapled by sophomore goalkeeper Owen Robinson. In his first year as the Scots starting keeper, Robinson allowed just four goals through he first six games of the season, and he has already recorded three shutouts.

For his efforts, Robinson was named the Midwest Conference Defensive Performer of the Week.
The game that earned Robinson the honor was against Cornell College, when the Scots defeated Cornell 3-0 on Sept. 23 in Monmouth.

Robinson recorded three saves in the game, en route to his second consecutive shutout. Perhaps the bigger news from the game was the three goals scored by the Scots. The one negative to the season has been the lack of offense, as they have failed to score in four of their seven games.

The first goal of the season was scored by senior Trevor Neff in the 25th minute. Neff, the team’s captain, scored off a header and sophomore Patrick Blazer and freshman Daniel Sell were credited with the double assist.

“Cornell was a good game for us. (Danny) Davis and I each netted one and Joe Howell put in his first collegiate goal,” Neff said. “Owen tallied his second consecutive shutout thanks to a solid performance and a great effort by his defense.”

Davis, a sophomore, then gave the Scots a 2-0 lead with a goal early in the second half. Fellow sophomore Lucas Knox was credited with the assist.

Davis and Neff are tied for the team lead in goals, as they have each netted three on the season.

Howell than gave the Scots a comfortable three goal cushion by scoring in the 84th minute, with sophomore Bryan Jackson being credited with the assist.

Monmouth played in their final tune-up before conference play on Sept. 25 when they hosted a tough opponent in Loras College. Loras defeated the Scots 4-0, but Monmouth trailed by just one goal after the first half.

Going into the match against Loras, Monmouth knew they had their work cut out for them, as Loras has an established soccer program. Although the four goal defeat makes it look like the Scots got beat up, they still held their own. Robinson continued his solid play and recorded 10 saves.

Conference play for the Scots will begin this weekend when they travel to Galesburg to take on their biggest rivals, Knox College.

Knox is not known for a strong soccer program or strong athletics in general, so the Scots are looking forward to gaining momentum in conference play by beating Knox in a convincing way.

“In every game this year, our defense has been solid, but our offense has lacked,” Neff said. “We’ve been working out the kinks and improving every day. Knox is always a big game, and crushing them on their own field sounds like a great way to begin our conference run.”

Knox views their game against Monmouth as the biggest game of their season and the Prairie Fire generally step up and play well against the Scots.

Last season Knox earned a tie on Monmouth’s home field, despite having a substantially less talented team. The Scots hope to redeem themselves this weekend on Sept. 29. A large Monmouth crowd is also expected in Galesburg with it being Family Weekend for Monmouth College. The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m.

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