The Indiana Wesleyan men’s soccer team played Indiana Tech at home this past Saturday, losing a close match 1-0.
It was a physical, hard-fought match that saw delays in warmups due to lightning and contained just one goal in the 12th minute. In the second half, the Wildcats were reduced to only ten players due to a red card. They continued to fight but came up short at the end of the 90 minutes.
“The team felt a little bit of that franticness that carried over from the end of the last game,” junior midfielder Tyce Glover said.
Glover added that the team settled in after about 25 minutes and had some decent chances to win the game.
Graduate assistant coach and former IWU midfielder Jaxon Carpenter put the Wildcats performance in perspective.
“When I first started playing, we were unranked and not receiving votes,” Carpenter said.
Now, however, the Wildcats are ranked sixth in the country, which in turn means better competition.
“We get everybody’s best game,” junior defender Sam Goodin said.
Playing with this ranking may seem to bring some added pressure, but the team is excited for the challenge.
“They see the numbers, they see the rankings, they see that IWU crest on our chest and they’re going to give us their best game because they see us as a high-level team,” Glover said.
He discussed adopting an “underdog” mentality, even with a national ranking, and relying on work ethic to carry them through the rest season.
Goodin has experienced the culture of men’s soccer at another university before transferring to Indiana Wesleyan.
“It’s so much different. You have this group of guys who want the best for you, either on the field or off the field…you’re so much more than a soccer player,” Goodin said.
The Wildcats record now stands at 3-2-1 with their next game coming on Tuesday at Olivet Nazarene University, starting at 7 p.m.
