Men's soccer plays physical despite losses

Frustration grows after Kenyon blowout

It was a frustrating week for the Oberlin men's soccer team as they suffered a 0-3 loss to Penn State-Behrend and a 1-8 loss to Kenyon College. The problem, however, seemed to lie in the team's mind, not their feet. A fresh start with their first home games this week offers hope.

Even before Saturday's Penn State-Behrend game had begun, things did not look good for the Yeomen. The field was in horrible condition and worse than that, the men's spirits were running low. "We weren't all mentally into it," said sophomore Sam Hopkins. The men started slow and never sped up.

The game was physical and turned violent at times. Fouls were plentiful and by the end of the first half both Behrend and Oberlin had yellow cards. Oberlin's passing was off and their focus nearly absent. Towards the end of the first half Behrend scored leaving the Yeomen down 0-1 heading into the locker room.

Apparently unaffected by the opportunity to cool off during half-time, both teams started the second half as aggressively as they had left off. "We lost because of the first half. The team fell flat and lost our composure. We got frustrated and that led to fouls," said freshman Adam Schoenberg. Behrend scored 12 minutes into the second half and again with 19 minutes remaining. During that period, the game grew increasingly physical and disorderly. Both teams seemed more interested in muscling out their opponent than in strategy or skill. The game closed with the score 0-3.

Aggression caused by frustration is cited as the cause of the loss. "We got into a situation where we couldn't pull it out...We went for the man instead of the ball," said junior Chris Nytch. The frustration also led to a decline in skill. "We keep forcing the ball into the middle of the field too much where there are always lots of opponents to pressure the ball," Coach Chris Barker said.

Despite Kenyon's formidable reputation, the Yeomen seemed determined and focused going into the match Tuesday.

They held their own in the beginning, but 15 minutes into the first half and then again only a minute later Kenyon scored off free kicks. The rapid scoring so early in the game was discouraging, but the men remained focused. Twenty-five minutes into the half, Kenyon scored again off a free kick. The men were beginning to show signs of wear confronted by the speed and force of the Lords. The mood shifted, though, with four minutes remaining when Hopkins scored a goal assissted by freshman Jay Rosenthal. The men were like a new team for those last moments of the first half, controlling the ball and the field.

"(After the first half) the team thought we were in the game...We wanted to start out strong and set the tone, but we didn't and it was downhill from there," said sophomore Ned Basbaum. Kenyon scored less than 30 seconds into the second half. It was a serious blow to the Yeoman's confidence. "While Oberlin had more offensive opportunities generated than in the last two games, the defensive effort by the team as a whole was insufficient. Poor marking, tracking, and lunging for the ball accounted for too many open shots for Kenyon," Barker said.

Substitutions abounded as the game continued with the Yeoman getting worn out both by the intensity of Kenyon and the disheartenment of their opponent's ever expanding lead. The team as a whole did not play as hard and as focused as they needed to hold their own with a team of Kenyon's standing, but they had some truly impressive moments and many players played a consistently outstanding game. Kenyon scored two more goals making the final score 8-1.

"OC has to decide if it really wants to win badly and put it on the line for 90 minutes. We have the skill to do much better than we are, but we don't seem to have enough of the desire, " Barker said.

The Yeoman have their first home game of the season Saturday when they host La Roche College. Tuesday they host Capital. "It will be nice to play a home game. The team's getting disheartened by all the road trips. It will be refreshing," Basbaum said.

Working out the kinks: The Oberlin men's soccer team practices for their first home game of the season Saturday. The Yeomen play LaRoche at 2:00pm in North Fields. (photo by Stephen Menyhart)