Men’s Soccer Begins Season with 2-1 Weekend

Team Begins with 2-0 Victory Over South Dakota Mines

Steven Petrov
The Paw Print

The Men’s Soccer Alamosa “grizzlies” took the win against the “hardrockers” from the South Dakota School of Mines, recording their first shutout for the season. The team, lead by coach Tim Busen, had multiple chances to score within the first half of the game, but unfortunately the score remained 0:0 at half-time. The pressure that the green put their opponent under and the disciplined way of play eventually lead to an opening goal in the 57th minute scored by the sophomore, defensive midfielder Aaron Fox. After taking the ball outside of the opponents’ 18-yard box, Fox dribbled into the box from the right side of the ASU attack. Dribbling with speed at the defenders, he managed to get in the box.
After an unsuccessful try by the SD Mines’ defense to clear the ball, there was a rebound that came back straight to our midfielder’s feet, and he put the ball in the net. It took the “grizzlies” 19 minutes to score again and put the game away.  A perfect cross, delivered by the senior Jake Hughes, from the right side of the ASU’s attack, was successfully controlled by the freshman Nicholas Hansen in the left part of the SD’s penalty box. With a precise touch, Hansen crossed the ball back across to the ASU forward, Erick Henrickson, who then scored a header; recording his first goal for the season. J.J. Dennis, Cody Wiesenberger, Ethan Jackson, and Fabian Omana had good opportunities to score throughout the game and were also a major threat for the SD Mines’ defense.
After the game was over, we managed to talk to the goal scorer Aaron Fox; one of the captains of the team, Matthew Stefanko, and the coach Tim Busen and asked them about their opinions for the game.
Fox said that he is very happy with the win and that the team had a great game, deserved the win, and is promised to have a great season. Senior Matthew Stefanko explained how the team had a game plan that they stuck to throughout the whole game, that the most beneficial thing for the team was the “long” bench, and that the subs were as concentrated as the starters which contributed a lot to the team’s victory. The ASU Men’s Soccer coach, Tim Busen, talked about the major growth of the team in the past 4 years, the great leadership showed by all of the upperclassmen, and the level of play that the underclassmen are showing this year. He also mentioned the benefit of having “long” bench and the ability to keep your players fresh throughout the whole game without lowering the quality of the game.
With their first shutout for the season, the ASU Men’s Soccer grizzlies are on the right way, playing at a high level and looking forward to their next opponent Dallas Baptist University.