2018 Men's Soccer Wrap-Up

 

 

The Faith men's soccer season finished the 2018 season with a record of 7-8-3. The men knew they were going to have a very young and inexperienced team going into the season after losing 12 players from last year's team, including all three captains and seven starters. The men's team was composed this season of 10 freshmen, 8 sophomores, 3 juniors and one lone senior in captain and four-year player, Caleb Sturgis. The season got off to a fast start, as the Eagles started 6-2-1 through their first nine games. But the season was backloaded with tough opponents. That, combined with losing three starters for the remainder of the season, made for a tough finish. Highlights of the season included: Chase Clark's hat trick against a tough Eureka team on the road in a heartbreaking 4-3 double-overtime loss; a 0-0 tie at home to Emmaus the top team in the MCCC conference this season capped by a penalty kick save by Daniel Moore at the end of the second overtime; and a PK shootout win over Ozark for third place at the MCCC conference tournament.  

 

This season was all about the team for the Eagles, as despite scoring 20 fewer goals than last season they only had 7 fewer assists. Without any individual players dominating the stat sheet and earning All-Region recognition, the team was built on solid play from 11 players across the board and learned to play together as a unit and move the ball as a team. Many of the young players gained great experience this season and really developed both individually and as a team. Faith had 7 players this season who were first-year starters. The men will look to build on this as they have the potential to return next season with 10 of their 11 starters from this year's team.

 

"I really enjoyed the season and this team, said Coach Sauser. "It was a great group of guys that really developed and progressed over the course of the season. I thought this team really learned how to play together as a unit and improved their overall level of play dramatically. I'm excited about the potential with this group in the future if we can continue to work and add to the core we will have returning."