After starting off the season 0-4, the men’s soccer team has run off four straight victories to put themselves back at .500.
In the first four games, the ‘Hawks were outscored 11-3. These past four wins, the team has turned it around, outscoring its opponents 11-2. Goalie Aaron Sesselmann has been a big part of this turnaround, alongside a switch in play styles.
“I feel that we’re working together and we know what everyone’s abilities are,” Sesselmann said. “We switched our defense around. We started the year in a 3-5-2 and now we’ve moved back to a 4-4-2 because of a couple injuries, but it’s working for us.”
The ‘Hawks will look to keep their winning streak alive at 7 p.m. when they host UW-Oshkosh.
Head Coach Greg Henschel believes the recent key to success has been simple.
“Everyone’s just playing hard and we’re staying as positive as we can,” Henschel said.
Henschel said that good defense and having a great goalkeeper is always a staple when it comes to playing good soccer.
“I really think we have a team effort going on right now,” Henschel said. “I think if our goalkeeper has a good game, we will be a tough team to deal with.”
The ‘Hawks kicked off WIAC play this past Wednesday night against UW-Platteville, winning 1-0. The team scored its goal in the first half, and that didn’t come as a coincidence.
The ‘Hawks have been an offensively stronger team all season long in the first half, scoring 10 of its 14 goals in the first half of their games. This past Sunday, the ‘Hawks beat non-conference opponent Carroll University, 5-0.
Keeping the first half dominance going, the team started the game on fire, scoring three goals in the first four minutes of the game, and four goals in the first half. Now that the team is hitting its stride, Sesselmann said if the ‘Hawks ended up going undefeated in the WIAC, the team wouldn’t be in disbelief.
“We could’ve been a little stronger against Platteville, but our communication has stepped up since the first four games and we’ve been positive on and off the field,” Sesselmann said. “I strongly believe that if we play to the best of our ability, we can win the rest of our conference games.”
