The men’s soccer team fell 7-1 to No. 15 Northeastern State University this past weekend.
It was the final game of the season for Harding, as well as senior night. The Bisons finished 4-11-3 overall and 2-7-1 in conference.
Harding’s goal came from senior Jackson Savage 41 minutes into the game. It was his fourth goal of the season and sixth in his career.
Throughout the game, Northeastern had 31 shots on goal, with 20 of those in the second half. Savage had four of Harding’s nine shots, the team-high.
“The loss this past Friday can be credited to the well organized, nationally ranked 15th, Northeastern State,” said graduate assistant coach Austin Brown. “They out-played us on Friday, but at their place we competed much better. Sometimes you just have to learn from a loss and build from there.”
This game was the final game in the careers of five Bison players.
Brandon Bailey, Josh Ireland, Victor Moya, Rhon Royer and Jackson Savage were all honored on senior night for their accomplishments during their time as Bisons. They combined to play more than 300 games for Harding. With the close of this season, the Bisons have nothing to do but look to the season ahead. They do not have any games scheduled yet in the offseason, but are still preparing themselves for the spring semester and their next full season.
“I am most looking forward to our progression next year,” junior midfielder Ryan Wilhelm said. “We’ll lose five guys to graduation, but most of our team will be back with more experience.”
According to Brown, off season does not officially start until after Christmas, but the players are off for awhile due to NCAA rules.
“It is important for each player to take advantage of this off period to lift this program to where it needs to be,” Brown said.
Members of the team use this time to work on their game individually as well as hit the weight room.
“I think our team will definitely improve next season,” Wilhelm said. “We know what caliber of teams we are going up against in the MIAA and that we have to bring out A-game no matter what. This offseason will be a great chance to work on getting better.”
Looking ahead, the coaches will begin recruiting and preparing for the upcoming season. They cannot let the loss of the seniors knock the team off focus.
“As for next season the next step is to begin the recruiting process,” Brown said. “The team graduated five solid seniors and we have to hit the ground running to do our best to bring in quality players to fill many critical positions.”
