Men’s soccer triumphs 3–0 over host Chicago
The Carnegie Mellon men’s soccer team defeated the University of Chicago Maroons Saturday, improving the team’s record to 10–1–1 overall and 1–1–0 in the University Athletic Association (UAA). The Tartans dominated the Chicago side, and although they led by three goals for the majority of the second half, they continued to create scoring opportunities and take chances in their offensive third.
Junior forward Keith Haselhoff put the Tartans up on the scoreboard early when he scored the first of three for Carnegie Mellon in the 10th minute of play. Haselhoff capitalized on Chicago’s inability to clear the ball out of the goalkeeper box after a long cross. He was able to get a foot on the loose ball to finish in into the back netting from about 8 yards out.
Just 20 minutes later, Haselhoff combined with junior forward Patrick Lutz to score the second goal of the game. Haselhoff found himself in front of the net and instead of taking the shot, he opted to pass the ball to Lutz who was 10 yards away from the goal line in front of the wide-open net. Lutz finished the play in the 29th minute to increase the goal difference by two.
Junior forward Ricky Griffin scored the final goal of the game at the 53rd mark when Haselhoff assisted yet again by serving a perfect pass across the box to Griffin. His shot rolled into the net with the Chicago goalkeeper diving after the ball, but to no avail. Griffin lead the team in goals scored with a total of 12 for the season thus far.
After experiencing their first loss of the season last weekend, it was hard to predict how the Tartans would react in their first game back. When asked how the team handled last week’s loss, senior goalkeeper Matt Bazin replied, “We were all extremely disappointed with the outcome against Washington. We didn’t play for two minutes in the game and got punished. The UAA takes a full 90 minutes of being focused and executing from top to bottom.”
Bazin reported that the team prepared well for this past weekend with a revitalized spirit and focus coming away from their loss. “At this point in the season last year we kind of fell into a lull.... Through prep all week and watching film and new strategies on the field, we brought it all together and we were ready come game time,” he said.
The men’s soccer team are taking precautionary measures to ensure that they do not fall into the same losing streak that they experienced this time last season. Having already improved their UAA record from last season, which was 0–5–2, the team arrived in Chicago ready to create a new winning streak.
Carnegie Mellon will return to action this weekend for a double header against the University of Rochester and Case Western Reserve University. The first game will be against Rochester Friday with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Gesling Stadium. Sunday’s game will be against Case Western Reserve at 1:30 p.m. also at home.