Black vs. Orange

Last weekend, our soccer team wrapped up spring practices with our competition in Findlay on April 19. The NCAA allows Division III teams to have 180 minutes of game time and only one day of competition during the spring. To meet this requirement, we played two 90-minute games in the same day. As most people know, soccer is physically demanding, with the average collegiate player running between five and seven miles per game. Playing back-to-back matches made it even more challenging for our team.

Although I could not play due to my injury, I was still able to support my teammates from the sidelines. The first game was fairly quiet, ending in a 0-0 draw at halftime and remaining scoreless through the final whistle. We created a few solid scoring opportunities in the second half but were unable to finish.

Immediately after, we faced University of Northwestern Ohio soccer team in the second game. With our bodies already warmed up, we started with more energy. Once again, the match was scoreless at halftime. Late in the game, we capitalized on a restart opportunity and scored to secure a 1-0 win. Afterward, we went to Raising Cane's for lunch and took some time to recover before preparing for our upcoming intersquad scrimmage.

On Wednesday, we kicked off our annual intersquad series, Black vs. Orange. Each year, the seniors draft teams, and the competition is played as a best-of-three series. The first game was competitive and exciting. Team Orange played with 10 players due to an injury, creating an 11 vs. 10 situation on the field. Despite this, Orange managed to stay even at halftime with a 1-1 score. In the second half, a costly mistake by Black allowed Orange to take control and win the game 3-2.

Game two takes place Thursday, and Black will look to respond and even the series.

Overall, this past week of wrapping up our spring season has been a great experience. It has been especially rewarding to see the underclassmen grow more comfortable in game situations and improve throughout their collegiate careers.