by Alex Trepper

Our Greensboro College Men’s Soccer team has kicked off their season and, unlike most teams, they got to start the season with three straight home games. Senior Connor Spesock had this to say about the homestand: “It is a dream scenario for a college team… first three games at home in front of our fans is a great way to start.”

All three games were packed with a combined total of almost 1000 attendees. Each match was electric even though GC failed to take any points from the homestand.

The first game of the homestand saw the Tigers of Hampden-Sydney College come to town for the season opener on Friday, September 1. To open, the Tigers Found sustained pressure in their attacking third and earned a penalty shot in just the 12th minute of the game. The penalty was converted by the Tigers’ Ben Beason, notching his team their first goal of the season.

Greensboro responded well after conceding the early goal with pressure of their own; however, the back line of Hampden-Sydney held strong. Although the Pride was able to find success in the final third, they were forced to drop back and defend shot after shot in the 25th to 35th minutes of the game. These attempts were unsuccessful thanks to amazing play from Goalkeeper #0 Christian Del Cid and Defender #7 Connor Spesock. 

Following halftime, the Tiger’s kept testing the Pride’s outside wingers, sending through ball after ball, leading to an influx of touches in and around the box. Greensboro’s keeper play was outstanding in the second half with #0 Christian Del Cid racking up over a half dozen saves, giving the Pride a chance to equalize the score line.

Greensboro was able to generate a number of chances on the counterattack later in the half. The Pride eventually earned themselves a pair of attacking free kicks in the final ten minutes of the game, providing the opportunity to tie the game late. Unfortunately, Greensboro could not convert either set piece and Hampden-Sydney was able to escape Pride Field with a tight 1-0 victory. 

“We see this as an opportunity to learn, grow, and come back stronger in the games to come, we can’t take too much time to dwell on it because we play again in a couple of days, but we’re definitely going to use this as an opportunity to improve,” said Greensboro Head Soccer Coach Manbi Nyepon.

Coach Nyepon was spot on in his comment after game one because the Pride only had one day before their next contest against Averett University on September 3. With both teams looking for their first win of the season, this match had everything a fan could want in a soccer game. Each team in this match combined for 22 shots resulting in six goals as well as eight total yellow cards – four for each team. 

The first 20 minutes of the game were back and forth with each team getting touches and creating chances in the final third. In the 24th minute of the game, #6 Leonardo Cardona sent a wonderful over the top through ball past the Cougar back line to set up #13 Craig Thomas in the box, where he was able to dispatch the ball into the back of the net, giving the Pride a 1-0 lead.  

In response, Averett shifted their team into more of an attack formation, which helped the Cougars earn corner after corner. In the 39th minute, a corner kick was sent into the box and landed on the foot of #4 Sebastian Weijdegaard, who would score to tie the match before halftime. 

Coming out of the break, Averett maintained possession in the attacking half for the bulk of the first 15 minutes of the second half, resulting in a Cougar go ahead goal in the 57th minute. Greensboro responded well by maintaining possession and having touch after touch in and around the box, which led to #13 Thomas earning a penalty kick in the 64th minute of the game. #15 Sharife Hne took the penalty for the Pride and smashed it into the top left corner, beating the keeper to equalize the scoreline at 2-2.  

While the momentum had switched back in Greensboro’s favor, Averett was quick to respond and earned a handful of free kicks and corners in the final 20 minutes of the game. Averett went on to score two goals in the final ten minutes of the match giving them the win over the Pride in what was a hard-fought game.  

The match finished 4-2 in Averett’s favor despite great play from keeper #0 Christian Del Cid, who had 7 saves, and striker #13 Criag Thomas with a goal and an assist. While they had come up short in their first two games, the Pride’s last home game to start the season came against in-city rival Guilford College.

Both teams took the pitch on September fifth in hopes of securing their first wins of the season. Like any GC athletic team playing against Guilford, it got chippy with both teams receiving multiple yellow cards and each team combining for over a dozen hard fouls. 

The match started off with both teams getting a feel for each other’s pace and ball movement, but it would not take long for some action to transpire. In the first ten minutes of the match, each team was awarded attacking free kicks, but neither was able to find the back of the net. However, in the 12th minute of the game, Guilford took multiple touches around the box until #12 Osman Torres was able to find a hole and score, putting the Quakers up 1-0. 

Following the goal is when the game got rough, with foul after foul being committed by each team, including a yellow card for both. The rest of the first half was back and forth with each team getting chances on the counterattack but the score would remain 1-0 going into the break.  

Coming out of halftime, the Pride dominated the Quakers and spent the majority of the first 20 minutes in the attacking half. They earned a few free kicks and corners but failed to convert the set pieces. Guilford’s back line held strong despite great play from #13 Collin Thomas and #15 Sharife Hne in the final third. 

Guilford was able to create chances on the counter, but #0 Christian Del Cid, with four second-half saves, was doing everything he could in net to give the Pride a chance to equalize. The Pride spent the last 15 minutes in a full-on attack and forced the Quakers to commit foul after foul including two yellow cards. Unfortunately, the Pride forwards were unable to convert these chances into an equalizer, giving Guilford the 1-0 win.  

While Greensboro went winless to open the season, they played three gritty, hard-fought matches and have a lot of positives to look back upon. Our soccer team will be just fine as they move deeper into the season and by the time conference play comes around, they will be firing on all cylinders.