The Lancers men’s soccer team finished its season overall 5-11-2 and went 4-5-1 in the Western Athletic Conference. This is an improvement compared to the 2018 season where the team finished 5-6 in the conference.
To prepare for the season the team worked closely with their strength and conditioning coach, Jason Quan, who set up voluntary training sessions throughout the week.
“The Riverside heat helped us get in shape and build that mental toughness we used during the season,” said Victor Aguirre, senior business administration major.
Goalkeeper Albert Escuin, senior business administration major, faced 22 shots, saved 10 and allowed only two goals this season. Escuin said it well when he explained soccer as a distinct sport that makes the players push through all of its difficulties.
Through tough times on the playing field, Escuin said he continued to push through in the goal net when he thought about the players, coaches, trainers, friends and family who wanted to see him succeed and have fun.
“All of these things, plus the feeling of brotherhood, created within the players because of the amount of time spent together makes it so that no matter what is going on, giving up is not an option,” Escuin said.
CBU had some great wins in the Western Athletic Conference, picking up a 4-0 victory against The University of Las Vegas, then continuing a tough match against the Airforce Academy, which lead into overtime where the Lancers picked up a 2-1 win.
The Lancers also had some close battles against tough opponents, such as the Seattle University Redhawks and the Utah Valley Wolverines.
Overall, the Lancers improved their possession statistics, and their shots and corners are superior to their opposition, explained Coe Michaelson, head coach of men’s soccer.
Aguirre said his senior focus was to improve as a team and individually.
“It carried on to our success because we were determined to keep fighting no matter how tough things got,” Aguirre said. “Despite losing a lot of close games, we were a tough team ,to beat and very rarely got outplayed once the team developed the character it needed.”
This is the team’s second year playing NCAA DI and right now they are playing for pride purposes, Michaelson said.
“It’s a challenge because our opponents all have something to play for in terms of conference tournaments and we are playing for pride,” said Michaelson. “This imbalance has been evident at times, but we have good, hard-working guys.”
Overall, the Lancers have had a season of great improvement.
“We are on a better side than last year in most ways,” Michaelson said.
