Men's soccer falters against weather, opponent

With a pair of losses this week, the men's soccer record fell to 1-3, a record coach Chris Barker says is not indicative of the team's ability.

Barker's goalkeeper, senior Dave Kumpe, claims one of those losses - the one Saturday to Ohio Northern University - wasn't indicative of a soccer game.

"I had a hard time considering it a soccer game. It was ugly. The ball was hard to handle. It didn't do what you thought it would," Kumpe said.

The ball squirted around the field; neither team was able to dribble the ball. With standing water on the field, players toppled frequently. The handful of faithful fans in the stands compared the game to another sport: water polo.

And to add insult to mud, the Yeomen lost 1-0 to a team that's now ranked seventh among Ohio NCAA Division III teams.

Though there were no goals for the Yeomen, they dominated the second half of the game, keeping the ball on the Polar Bears' end of the field most of the time. "It was good to see how we adjusted at half-time," Barker said. "This team has a lot of intelligence."

The week's second game, a dry-field match-up at Penn State-Behrend, may have been even sloppier in some ways. "We played poorly as a team," Barker said. "All 10 players played poorly defensively."

Down 2-0 in the first half at Penn State-Behrend, Barker went to the bench for a lift. "We don't lose anything when we go to the bench. Our subs are almost just as good as the starters. There's not a let-down. This team is so deep they can actually give us a spark."

The substitutions worked. Sophomore reserve midfielder Mike Buckler passed to sophomore forward Jabali Sawicki for the Yeomen's first goal. Then, a goal from first-year reserve midfielder David Lessinger off assists from senior sweeper David Reeves and Sawicki knotted the game at two before the half.

Sophomore Matt Jenson was a force off the bench as a midfielder, Barker said.

In the second half, the Yeomen were not able to recover from the three goals Penn State scored, despite junior fullback Sam Krasnow's goal. Krasnow's goal, which Barker called the game's prettiest, came after he dribbled around Penn State's goalkeeper.

"All three of our goals were nice goals," Barker said, while Penn State's were not so pretty.

Two of Penn State's came on penalty kicks, which are basically a gamble for the goalkeeper, who guesses which way the shooter will kick the ball. Kumpe guessed wrong twice.

Another goal dropped in from over Kumpe's head after an Oberlin defender got a foot on the ball as a Penn State player shot, sending it high into the air.

"Five of seven times, we're going to beat those teams," Kumpe said.

Junior stopper Brenden Cody is back in action after an injury, which means junior Sam Krasnow has moved up to fullback. Barker said there could be some other line-up adjustments for this weekend's game.

Saturday, the Yeomen are trying to break their three-game losing streak at Kenyon, which is ranked first in Ohio and is in the top 20 Division III teams nationally.

To be in the game, Oberlin will have to put everything together and play smart. "When you play a team like Kenyon," Barker said, "you have to resist the urge to ball-chase."

Bending over backwards:Matt Jenson and Mateo Massanet practice this week. (photo by Mike Oleson)