Soccer team needs fans
Eric Scott

Staff Writer

 

Lions soccer continued to battle forward in the season with a game on Oct. 2 against the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Southern went into the game with a 2-3-1 record, which included wins over Southwestern Oklahoma and St. Joseph s College.

 I can t say this season has been a disappointment,  said Geoff VanDeusen, head coach,  but we need to win the close games and realize that we can beat teams considered to be above us. We have a lot of talent on this team, but sometimes we don t play like we re capable. 

The Lions  soccer players have also said it would help if the students would show them more fan support.

 I m out there every game rooting for the Lions,  said Michael Arevalos, freshman psychology major,  and I think all the students need to lend them more support. The confidence of the team would improve tremendously. 

VanDeusen said the players need to do a better job of putting the ball in the net when the opportunity is there, which is a big reason they haven t won the close games this season.

The Lions have a game at 3 p.m. on Friday at Ouachita Baptist University and another game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday against the University of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at home.

 We have a lot of tough games coming up,  VanDeusen said,  and we need to stay focused on them and keep working hard in practice to improve. 

 I think the men s soccer team is solid,  Arevalos said,  but execution is sometimes lacking. They have to run to the ball and be able to score. 

Overall, VanDeusen remains optimistic.

 This season has been a good learning experience for us, but we still must execute on all of the little details,  he said.  If we play like we should, we will win more games.