So far this season, the men’s soccer team has had a rough time. While trying to adjust to a new coach and style of play, the Falcons are yet to break into the win column and are currently 0-6. In the six non-conference games the Falcons have been outscored by their opponents 19-3 and unfortunately for the Falcons this weekend may prove to be their toughest test yet.
On Friday, the Falcons are set to travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines are ranked no. 9 in the nation and currently have a record of 5-0. The Falcons, coming off a 4-0 loss to Xavier, lost to the Wolverines last year by a score of 6-1. This is a new year, however, and the Falcons are under a new coach – and he is looking forward to the difficult match.
“For me, as a coach, I think this [Friday’s match-up] is awesome,” Coach Thompson said. “I always want to play the best teams. I figure that if you can’t get up for Michigan, you don’t have a pulse and I expect that the boys will come out fired up and ready to rock and roll and I think we will have a pretty good performance.”
Coach Thompson realizes that after the difficult start the team has many things to improve if they want to play competitively but believes the team is getting closer everyday.
“The rough start is not what we wanted, but we came up with a list of things that we needed to do in order to get good results and we haven’t consistently done those things. So the locker room is a little bit apprehensive, a little bit confused, a little disappointed, and I think we are finally getting to the point of getting fired up and wanting to prove something,” said Thompson.
If the Falcons are looking to prove something, Friday night’s game would be a great time for it and coach Thompson hopes that this weekend can spark something for the rest of the season for the Falcons.
“The fact is, no matter who you are, if you beat Michigan you’re pretty good and that alone would be great for confidence,” Thompson said. “Even a competitive game will mean that we are a very good team.”
Following Friday’s game in Ann Arbor the team travels back home to take on Western Illinois on Sunday. Western Illinois, who is currently 2-4 and coming off a big win against top 25 Drake, visits Cochrane field at 2:30 on Sunday.
