Soccer kicks off conference the right way

by Peter Krosnjar
Courier Staff

Monmouth's Fighting Scots ended their two game winning streak with a loss and a tie, giving them a record of 0-1-1 for the past weekend.

On Saturday, Oct 1, the Scots played Ripon College in Ripon, Wisc., and ended a rigorous game with a 2-2 tie. The Fighting Scots battled through a hard match and went into two overtimes, but no one was able to score.

Center midfielder Trevor Neff scored the first goal in the 39th minute with a long, down-the-field pass assist from defender Brian Potter.

During the second half, the score was 1-1, due to a penalty kick awarded to Ripon for an unfair play by Monmouth College. The Fighting Scots scored just five minutes later, making the score 2-1 in Monmouth's favor.

The Monmouth Scots were bound to win the match, but in the final minutes of play, Ripon's Pa Demba Camara scored on a header, making the score 2-2 and forcing the contest to go into overtime. Camara scored in the 91st minute of play.

The Scot's soccer team went into two, hard-played, overtime halves and had quite a few good chances to score. Ripon owned both halves of over-time by having more shots and corner kicks total than the Scots. "Even though we ended in a 2-2 draw, we still left the game feeling good and adding on points to our record," said goalkeeper Brad Hoffman, who had many key saves during the game. "As long as we don't lose, we get the points."

Meanwhile On Sunday, Oct. 2, the Fighting Scots lost a heartbreaker against Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisc.

The Scots ended the match with a 2-0 loss versus Carroll College. "Although we lost the game," said Scots' coach Rue Carthew, "we still played very well and are looking forward to playing Carroll again."

Monmouth was outplayed by Carroll's good soccer squad. The Scots came in second for every statistic, such as corner kicks, shots on goal, fouls, and goals. The Scots still played a good game but could not finish the plays.

Aside from the games, Monmouth goalkeeper Brad Hoffman came up big as the Fighting Scots' team player of the week. He was recognized for his great ability as a goal keeper and for his many saves to keep the Scots alive during their games.

The Fighting Scots men's soccer team now has a record of 4-4-1 overall, and are 1-1-1 in the Midwest Conference play.

The next game for the Scots is on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at home against Cornell College, at 4pm at Peacock Memorial Athletic Park.