The Colorado College men's soccer team returns home to Stewart Field this weekend for what should be two of the most anticipated matchups of the season. The No. 7 Tigers host No. 13 Ohio Northern and Emory, both of which CC defeated in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
In route to the historic Elite Eight run last season, CC won a highly challenging set of games against Emory in the Round of 32 and Ohio Northern in the Sweet 16. CC will first take on ONU on Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. MT and Emory on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Last Time Out
CC had a successful first road trip of the season to Lincoln, Neb., last weekend, winning 2-0 over Nebraska Wesleyan and 1-0 over Simpson College.
The Tigers had two more shutouts against the Prairie Wolves and Storm despite both matches bringing their adversity throughout. CC outshot their opponents by a combined 55-7. Senior
Vincent Luglio scored in both games and ended the weekend with four points and six shots.
Both goalkeepers
Spencer Besselaar and
Alex Wolter started and collected shutout wins. Besselaar had three shutouts, while Sunday against Simpson was Wolter's first career win.
It is CC's first 4-0 start since the 1995 season.
Player of the Week
Senior Caption
Curtis Hale was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, September 9th. Hale anchored the CC defense in it's 2-0 trip out to Lincoln, Neb. The captain played all 180 minutes in wins over Nebraska Wesleyan and Simpson.
The Tigers earned their third and fourth shutouts of the season and have still yet to be scored on this year. Hale contributed to CC holding its opponents to only two shots on goal. Simpson didn't get a single shot on target and was limited to only four shots overall.
Scouting the Opposition
Ohio Northern enters the weekend ranked No. 13 in the country after starting the season 4-1. The Polar Bears lost their inaugural game to No. 19 Kenyon College but have won four straight since. The most notable win of the year came on Sept. 7 in a 5-1 rout of No. 11 Calvin College.
ONU is led by freshman Chase Robinson and seniors Ryan Sommerfeld and Noah Zebrak, who all have three goals for the year. Sommerfeld leads the team with eight points and a pair of assists.
Emory is 1-2-1 through its first four games, with a win over the University of Lynchburg and a tie against in-state rival Oglethorpe.
The Eagles and Polar Bears will also take on the University of Texas-Dallas over the weekend. CC is not slated to take on the Comets but will host all three teams.
