The Lawrence University men’s soccer team began conference play last weekend as they took on Grinnell College. Defender Joe Cullen and midfielder Colin Potts returned to the starting lineup for Saturday’s game. The Vikings played their ‘A’ game, easily connecting passes to one another and getting the ball up the field. The Vikings clearly dominated the first half of the game, and junior David Caprile noted, “The first half of Saturday’s game was the best half we have played all year so far.” Despite playing excellent soccer, the first half ended scoreless.
Eager to have the score reflect their prowess on the field, the Vikings attacked hard from the moment the second half whistle blew. In the 72nd minute, junior Simon Newsom sent a cross into the box. The ball deflected off the opposing keeper’s hands, and senior Karl Mayer easily put the ball in the net, giving the Vikings the lead. When asked about how it felt to score the first goal of the game, Mayer said, “It felt great scoring the goal, but the credit goes to the whole team. I was merely in the right place to tap it in.” With 30 seconds left in the game, the Grinnell Pioneers attacked down the field and scored on the Vikings, sending the game into overtime.
‘Golden goal’ overtime, where the first team to score wins, determined the winner of the match. Despite feeling exhausted after over 90 minutes of play, Lawrence refused to go down without a fight. The first half of overtime ended scoreless, but with only fifteen minutes left in the game, the pressure was on to determine a winner. Sophomore Charlie Mann scored the winning goal for Lawrence off a corner kick from Cameron Pieper. The goal ended the game, and the Vikings celebrated their first conference win. “It’s important starting our conference campaign off with a win, and it was especially satisfying winning against Grinnell, since I had not beaten them before in my Lawrence career” Mayer said. The Viking’s next game is October 1st at 12:30 vs. Carroll College.