Maggie Ramold | Assistant Sports Editor
The Buena Vista University (BVU) men’s and women’s soccer teams kicked off their season at home on Friday and Sunday against Martin Luther College and Illinois College, respectively. Both teams went 1-1 over the weekend.
The women’s team started off the weekend with a 5-2 loss against Martin Luther College. Sophomore Tori Carson scored BVU’s first goal of the season to cut Martin Luther’s lead in half 2-1 during the first half. The second half proved to be rough for the Beavers as Martin Luther tallied three more goals. Sophomore Aleasha Bibler scored for the Beavers at the end of the second half.
The Beavers geared up again for Sunday against Illinois College and bounced back with a 2-1 win. Carson led off the scoring for both teams with a goal in the first half. Illinois College tied it up before the end of the first half. Freshman Naomi Wood scored her first career goal to put the Beavers ahead.
“On Sunday, the kids came to play and really worked on what needed to get done. The team did really well on organization, especially on defense, staying vocal, and being patient. We talked about capitalizing on opportunities, and on Sunday, they really did that. We’re really excited about the season, especially starting conference play, and we have to finish better this year in the conference than we did last year,” Head Coach Kristen Gay said.
Carson commented about the team’s first experience playing under their new coach. Although it was new to them, they worked through it to come out with a victory on Sunday.
“I am really looking forward to starting conference games. Last year, we tied in several of the games, so we are looking forward to turning those into wins,” Carson said.
The men’s soccer team also took the field Friday against Martin Luther College and shutout the visiting Knights 4-0. Freshman Kwame Antwi led the way turning three goals in the contest, while Junior Joey Stivers added one goal. Defensively, junior goalie Jordan Balster held off the Knights to complete the shutout.
On Sunday, the Beavers faced Illinois College and gave up two goals in the last few minutes of the game to hand the Beavers their first loss of the season, 3-2. Stivers scored the first goal of the game to give the Beavers an early lead. Senior Tyler Lafferty added a goal in the second half to give the Beavers a 2-1 lead with less than five minutes to go. The Beavers couldn’t hold on to the lead, giving away two goals at the end of the game.
“For a team full of a lot of incoming freshman and only a few weeks of playing together, I think we’re strong. We still have a few things to figure out, but with some time we’re going to be dangerous,” Antwi said.
Antwi went on to add that the team needs to work on its composure, to keep possessions, and continue scoring more goals.
“The rest of the season looks bright. We practice hard, so anything we need to work on we will be looking to perfect it to our best abilities,” Antwi said.
The BVU men’s and women’s soccer teams continue play on Wednesday as they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on Nebraska Wesleyan. The women’s game starts at 6:00 p.m. while the men take the field starting at 8:00 p.m.
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Photos by Makensie Brown
