LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Southern State Community College men’s soccer team was defeated 14-0 by Mount Saint Joseph on Sunday and 13-0 Friday by Boyce College.
Southern State played both games with only 10 players.
SSCC head coach Timothy Swart said, “The Patriots first two matches were tough on the men, but the Mount Saint Joe head coach Rudy Argueta addressed the SSCC men following the match and told them ‘…I have the greatest respect for you guys as players more than any of the players on the field today. You came here with only 10 players and played hard the entire match and never gave up.’
“Therein lies the lesson. No matter the odds, if you are passionate enough about what you are doing, keep working hard. You never know.”
Against Boyce College on Friday, Swart said the match “was the first time the players had played together due to class and work schedules, so we knew it would be a difficult task to maintain a high level of play. As the game wore on exhaustion set in and we were unable to maintain good ball pressure and keep the Boyce Bulldogs out of the net.”
In the second half, Swart said his squad was creating good ball pressure and compacting the Bulldogs’ space. Southern State had 26 saves in the match against Royce.
On Sunday against MSJ, game started well for the SSCC men, said Swart. The combination of good ball pressure and making the Lions have to attack from their half was going well,” the coach pointed out.
The Patriot men made some positional adjustments to create a different look and generated some form of attack, Swart said. The players understood the score did not matter at this point. They were playing because of the passion for the sport and for each other, said Swart.
The changes did create an immediate impact. The Patriots were pushing into the final third and creating some scoring opportunities, the coach said. But the Lions went 24 players deep and Southern State was no match.
Said Swart, “A crazy thought. A group of men called the Patriots were under-manned, lacked time in training, skills, and still went into battle only to suffer losses. With some new recruits and more training, could history be on their side?”