By The Carroll College men’s Soccer team left their Senior Day weekend with a tie and then a loss when they hosted Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon University on Friday, Oct. 13, and Saturday, Oct. 14.
After two prior wins against Eastern Oregon University and The College of Idaho, the Fighting Saints were sitting tied at the peak of the CCC leaderboard for the first time in program history. However, the winning streak was paused after this weekend.
The Oregon Tech battle ended in a draw as the Saints could not find a way to close out the Owls. Carroll proved to be far more aggressive in the first half when they went to halftime with a 1-0 score and 10 shots compared to the other teams’ six.
After halftime, in the 62nd minute, Luke Rosenberger, a senior accounting major from Wisconsin, doubled the Saints’ lead after receiving a cross pass from Enrico Paparelli, a first year business major from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Then OIT converted a penalty kick at the 75-minute mark.
A short three minutes later the Saints lost their lead after OIT scored again, tying up the game.
“Scoring that second goal felt so good because it felt like we would secure the win,” said Rosenberger. “It was especially exciting because it fell from a play that Rico and I had been attempting to draw up all season – an early ball in that allowed me to get behind the opposition’s back line.”
Giving up a 2-0 lead was tough on the Saints.
“Only getting a tie out of the game left a sour taste in our mouths due to the way OIT came back,” admitted Rosenberger.
Similarly, the Saints could not find a pace to match with Southern Oregon. The team struggled to find its pace with the constant stoppages made by SOU, who led at half 1-0.
This game was a battle and both teams played aggressively with SOU receiving 22 fouls compared to the Saints 11. Overall there were 6 yellow cards doled out to SOU players throughout this match.
“This season we have already achieved more than anyone expected,” said Griffin Teuber, a junior business management and marketing major, from Boise, Idaho. “Our game against SOU was our toughest test of the season and unfortunately, we fell short. However, this team is like a family, a family that fights for each other, and this loss was just a hiccup in our journey towards bigger things for this program.”
“It was a tough going in the weekend first place, but coming out 4th place,,” said head Coach Austin Shick. “What I will say is we learned a lot about what playoff soccer will look like and how to compete against tough competition. They were not bad performances from the lads, but rather tough results.”
Despite the loss, the Saints concluded their home season by celebrating their Senior Day after the match.
Seven seniors walked with their families and loved ones to be honored for their last day at Nelson Stadium.
Seniors included Ryan Croft, Dagim Degaro, Caleb Hoxie, David Macy, Ryan Quinn, Luke Rosenberger, and Matt Wigton.
