At the halfway point of the season, the LU men’s soccer program remains in contention in the Midwest Conference (MWC), currently sitting in sixth place with a overall record of 4-5-1. The team seems to have gained some level of stability after suffering all season from injuries. On that front, Lawrence’s effort this weekend was very encouraging, despite losing Sunday’s game to Carroll University, 3-1. The game was pushed back from Saturday after weather delayed all varsity sport activity.
The game against the Pioneers remained scoreless throughout the first 70 minutes, in large part due to some great work from freshman goalkeeper Joe Krivit. Finally, Lawrence freshman Max Loebl scored at 72:20. Less than a minute later, however, Krivit allowed the first Carroll goal on a free kick from senior Mark Gore. Krivit let in another quick goal on a penalty kick at 74:43, while the final goal was scored in the 86th minute. Despite those scores, Krivit had a great game with ten saves on the day. “Two of the goals were scored on penalty kicks, so the final score was kind of a fluke,” said freshman Matt Larson on the defeat. “But Carroll’s at the top of the Conference right now, so we’re still feeling good about the game. If we play like that every game, I really believe we can beat any team.”
The men’s soccer program suffered some initial setbacks after losing three starters to torn ACL’s within the first couple weeks of the season. “We’ve had a lot of knee and leg injuries,” said Larson. “But having ten freshman has helped a ton. A lot of players have been stepping up into new roles nicely. I think we are poised for a nice run for the rest of the season and in the coming years.”
Following the loss, Lawrence’s conference record fell to 2-2, while Carroll’s rose to 3 – 1. With two matchups against conference opponents Beloit College and St. Norbert College in the next week, the Vikings will need to keep up the hard work to improve their spot in the MWC standings. Those games will occur on Saturday Oct. 12 and Wednesday Oct. 16, respectively. They will both play a large part in determining if the Vikings’ playoff hopes will be realized.