Men’s Soccer Team Wins RMAC, Heads to NCAA Tournament

The Orediggers made it through the RMAC season and to the tournament Championships. Friday, Nov. 6, the Orediggers played Fort Lewis to a 6-2 victory in the semi-finals. On Sunday, Nov. 8, the team came from beind to win 2-1 over CMU with goals from David Boldt and Joe Haines.

The Orediggers play Saturday, Nov. 14, against St. Edwards at Stermole Soccer Stadium in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The team is both humbled and excited to win the RMAC Championship for the 2nd year in a row.

“It feels good. We came out with a lot of energy in both games and we did what we needed to do to get it done,” Ryan Leech commented. The team’s hard working culture is believed to be one its strongest assets.

“With high work ethic, we always come in with a lot of energy. The key is to come in and play with confidence. When we play with confidence and we play with energy, we know we’re going to win. There’s nothing that we can’t do. Even if we go down it doesn’t matter to us. We just keep fighting,” elaborated Joe Haines.

That being said, Richard Garvey went on to explain the key to the team’s previous and future success.

“The energy that we bring to this next game is going to be very important, and we have got to make sure that we maintain the energy,” stated Garvey. Going into playoffs, the team is taking the games one at a time.

“We’ve been doing it all year and it’s been working, so there’s no reason to change it,” stated Haines. Ryan Leech went on to explain how the team is approaching playoffs.

“Like we have every other game, it’s just another game that we have to win,” explained Leech. At the end of the day, the team is happy to continue their season.

“We’re excited to be playing when a lot of D2 teams aren’t,” Leech declared. As the end of the regular season comes to an end, the team holds a record of 9-0-1 in conference and 16-0-3 overall and is ranked 8th in D2.

On Friday, Oct. 22, the Orediggers played Fort Lewis to a 0-0 tied game. In overtime, Fort Lewis was rewarded a penalty kick. Goalkeeper Colin Hall stopped the penalty kick. Hall spoke about the team’s effort after the game.

“We couldn’t have mustered a better battle from everybody,” said Hall. “Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way and it just doesn’t go in the net.”

Men’s soccer played Adams State Sunday, Oct. 25, to a 1-0 victory. Garvey scored the goal against Adam’s State in a 1v1 match in front of the opposing goal.

“Our midfield was able to defend their plays and counter. I think the midfielders are creating a lot of chances for the guys up top,” explained Garvey. On the other side of the field, the defense has been able to limit the number of opportunities that opposing teams create.

“Although we weren’t putting our chances away, we know that we have to shake it off and come back and be ready to defend the next play. We always try to get everyone back, everyone involved, and talk to each other,” commented Garvey.