The Lawrence University men’s and women’s soccer teams wrapped up their seasons this past weekend. They played host to the Beloit College Buccaneers on Saturday, Oct. 28. Both teams entered the games still looking for their first win in conference competition this season.
On the men’s side, the game got off to a quiet start until Beloit College found the back of the net in the thirtieth minute on a goal from junior Jonathan Palmer, assisted by sophomore Jason Venzke. This was the only scoring in the game, and Beloit won by a margin of 1-0. The Vikings, however, took more shots than Beloit: 14 compared to 13. They were led by senior Lewis Berger who had five shots in the game including three on goal. Freshman AJ Bryant was in goal for Lawrence and made five saves in the match.
With the loss, the Vikings ended the season with a 2-14-1 record and an 0-8-1 record in conference play. They finished in 10th place in the conference standings. The team only featured four seniors, but they leave some big shoes to fill next year. However, the core of the team will remain, and Lawrence hopes to improve in the following years.
On the women’s side, things were not much better. Beloit jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as they scored in the fifth and eighth minutes of action. Things were quiet for a little while before Beloit found the back of the net again to expand their lead to 3-0 in the thirty-second minutes. The start of the second half was difficult for the Lady Vikes as Beloit scored three goals in five minutes in the forty-eighth, fiftieth and fifty-third minutes of action to take 6-0. Beloit would tack on one more in the seventy-first minute and win the game 7-0. Senior Ryan Berkley took all seven of Lawrence’s shots in the game and freshman Katelyn Seiffert had seven saves in goal during the match.
The Lady Vikes finished their season with a 2-16-0 record and an 0-9-0 record in conference play. They also finished 10th in the conference standings. The team was quite young this year, featuring eight freshmen on their roster; however, two seniors, including Berkley, will graduate. Berkley scored eight of the 11 Lawrence goals this season, so she will leave behind an offensive hole for the Vikes to fill next year. The team hopes to use this year as a learning experience for future success.
