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Men’s Soccer in a difficult situation after a loss to Knox

by Marisa Whitley

The men’s soccer team suffered a difficult loss last Saturday against Knox College, which put them back several paces in their hunt for the conference title, but the victory against Illinois College on September 18 put them back on the right track.

David Kennedy / The Scarlet & Black (web.grinnell.edu/sandb) Men's soccer

The Pioneers were defeated by Knox College 2-0 after a close, competitive match. Knox scored in the 18th and 85th minutes of the game, which turned rough during the second half. Both sides had injuries during the latter half of the game.

The men were victorious against Illinois College on Sunday, finishing the game with a score of 2-1. A questionable offsides call discredited a goal scored by midfielder Matt Pflaum ’06 during the first half of the game. Illinois College scored in the 39th minute of regulation, almost immediately after the botched call.

Despite this, the Pioneers continues to play hard and Ben Schrager ’08 tied up the game with a goal in the 63rd minute, adding another point to his secure position as the overall leading scorer of the team.

Pflaum secured Grinnell’s victory with a goal in the 80th minute of regulation time. Illinois College is ranked 8th in the conference, which made the Pioneers’ victory on Sunday important. Despite their success against Illinois College, some of the players were disappointed with their overall performance.

“We were expecting to win against Knox,” said defender Lucas Hollister ’06. “We need to pull an upset against Beloit, Lawrence or Lake Forest in order to go to the conference tournament.” Hollister admitted that the loss put the team “in a tough spot.”

“We’ve played nothing but close games,” said Hollister. Before the Beloit game on September 24, Hollister said the team will need to work on “finishing and possession.” Although some of the soccer team noticed a division between senior players and the rest of the team last season, team unity does not seem to be a problem this year. “This year everyone’s friendly and on the same level,” said Schrager.

The Pioneers were encouraged by their performance on Sunday and are eager to regain a position in the Midwest Conference Tournament. “We started off the season really well,” said goalkeeper Sam Lancaster ’08, “but [after the loss to Knox] we’re ready to put our backs against the wall and fight our way out.”

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