SPORTS EDITOR – OTONIEL GONZALEZ
ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON NOV 28, 2022
Last week, the St. Mary’s University men’s soccer team historic season came to an end. The team, led by coach Johnny Clifford, sent a historic regular season to the books by finishing unbeaten for the first time in their history. They had a record of seven wins and two draws, finishing first place in the conference. As a result, they clinched a spot in the Lone Star Championship and guaranteed a home-court advantage during the entire tournament. By ending in first place, they got a first-round bye, which meant they classified directly into the semifinals. The team dominated with six nominations to the 2022- Men’s Soccer ALL-Conference First Team and two nominations to the 2022- Men’s Soccer ALL-Conference to the Second Team. Unfortunately, they lost in the semifinals against Oklahoma Christian University (OC) in an exciting game by a score of one to zero.
This score was not the expected result. However, the men’s soccer team classified the regionals as the second-highest seed. This gave the team home court advantage in most of the matches and granted them a first-round bye. The team played the round of 32 here in the Sigma Beta Chi field against Midwestern State University. A great goal in the second half marked the defining moment in the match. It was a perfect strike team with home field advantage.
This season highlighted the continual success that the men’s soccer team has motivation to finish the regular season with one of the best records in school history.
Unfortunately, not everything goes as expected. Last week, the team was eliminated from the regionals by third-seeded Colorado State-Pueblo with a 2-1 loss. The game was intense, as each team stood an equal chance of winning. CSU opened the score in the first half with an impressive goal from outside the box. The team tied the game with a fantastic goal on a free kick by captain Deni Cresto. Finally, in the 61st minute, CSU scored the goal that broke the tie and gave them the win. They gave their best until the last seconds with a shot from Ariel Cardozo. The university’s dream of becoming regional champions ended.
As the team reflects on the season, they should be proud of their amazing accomplishments. It may not have ended as they dreamt, but it still was a season to remember. The Rattler men’s soccer team will be able to build upon this season and use it for motivation to work harder and dominate their competition as they prepare for the next season. As they stated on their instagram before the playoffs: “One of the stages of grief is revenge.”