By The Carroll College men’s soccer team ended the season with a 6-9-1 record and a conference record of 5-8 after finishing with a 4-0 win against the University of Providence.
Leading up to their first game of the season, the men showed out in their preseason exhibition match and scrimmages. One highly notable game was a 1-1 tie against the division one team, Gonzaga University.
Kicking off the season the men showed promise at home with a 2-1 win against the University of Providence from Great Falls. This win was followed by a loss against Whitman college, a tie with Whitworth University, and a conference opener loss to Corban University. However, the team picked themselves out of their slump in great spirits with a road win against Bushnell University.
Notable games following this stretch were back-to-back wins against Evergreen State College and Northwest University. The highest-scoring game came against Walla Walla University when the men shut out the Wolves 5-0 with some stellar goals coming from all over the roster. To close out the season, the Saints scored a second win over the University of Providence, 4-0.
Away from home, the Fighting Saints saw more success. However, the losses did not signal a poor team. Doug Mello, head coach since 2014, shared his thoughts on the season.
“The team played better in many games, the balls were just unable to find the back of the net, which we could do better on,” said Mello.
Luke Rosenberger, a junior business accounting major from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, had some frustrations this season but plans to work hard to improve for his senior season next fall.
“Doug Mello says we don’t learn when we lose, and every time we lost we did not learn, so we’ll hopefully learn more for next year,” said Rosenberger.
Despite their losses, the men still had a number of successes. The freshmen class showed a lot of promise this year, with five becoming consistent starters which Mello found very promising. Phillip Camacho, a freshman civil engineering major from Bullhead City, Arizona, was able to rack up three goals for the season, the second most for the Saints. Many others contributed with their first-ever collegiate goals.
The defense was a reliable protector in many situations that locked down the pitch and helped hold on to leads when given the chance. They were backed by two formidable goalies, Ryan Croft, a junior business marketing major from Fleming Island, Florida, and Mathias Gravesen, a freshman biology major from Copenhagen, Denmark. Each was able to save 47 and 38 goals respectively.
Rory Bloy, a senior business major from Johannesburg, South Africa, was the team’s lead scorer, having racked up five goals for the season and bumping his collegiate career total to 23. Bloy will be ending his career as the second-leading scorer of all time, only falling short of Jose Porras. Mello said he was one of the many great seniors that brought the team together this year.
“These nine seniors have been here for four years and have given all they got,” said Mello. “They are wonderful teammates and mentors to the young players which are going to be hard to replace.”
