The men’s soccer team lost 5-1 to Northeastern State University (NSU) on Oct. 1, their seventh loss of the year.
Head coach Odie Guzman said the team’s mental focus was a part of the Bisons’ loss.
“We have high aspirations going into these games,” Guzman said. “The problem is whenever we get scored on, our mindset takes a hit and we fall back into what we’ve been in the past, where we’ve taken the losses. If we can just stop the first goal coming in so early, I think we’d be fine going into the game.”
Junior defender Phillip White said getting scored on early takes a toll on the players.
“An early goal against us means that we are going to have to work even harder the rest of the game to tie it up, and then potentially win in the end,” White said. “It’s an exhausting sport. Every minor mistake may be the difference between a win or a loss, which makes it mentally taxing.”
NSU scored in the game’s first six minutes and by the half hour mark, NSU was leading 3-0. That changed after halftime when senior midfielder Josiah Ireland recovered a deflection and was able to score.
Guzman said he knows the team cannot give up that many goals and expect to win, so they need to tune things up across the board.
“We understand that wins aren’t just going to appear, and they just aren’t going to be given to us,” Guzman said. “(We’ve been) tightening up our defense and working on runs and the work ethic. We’re mentally pushing ourselves to get back behind the ball, sacrificing our body to at least get in front of a shot and chasing down players we lost the ball to.”
According to Ireland, the practice drills the team has been running will make a difference in future games.
“I think we go into games more prepared to deal with adversity,” Ireland said. “This is something Coach has tried to instill in us, and I think we’re growing mentally stronger.”
The Bisons’ next game is against Southwest Baptist University at home on Oct. 10.
