Nick Schade and Henry Schneiderman
The Fighting Scots men’s soccer team traveled to Cleveland, Ohio last Saturday to play against John Carroll University in their fourth game of the season. After a humble beginning to the season with two hard-fought ties and an unfortunate loss, Wooster hoped to turn things around with a positive result. Unfortunately, the team suffered a 4-1 defeat against the Blue Streaks despite putting on a stunning effort that included a whimsical free kick, an abundance of shots on target and a number of beautiful saves by the keeper.
Wooster scored the first goal of the match in the 27th minute, when Elliot Miller ’26 connected on a free kick 25 yards out from the goal to give the Scots a morale boost and early lead. The team held the lead at 1-0 until the 43rd minute, when John Carroll found an equalizer just before halftime.
Following the break, John Carroll broke the deadlock with back-to-back goals including a cheeky finish in the 49th and a penalty kick just a minute later. The score remained stagnant for the next 15 minutes before John Carroll scored their final goal of the game in the 65th minute to lay the Scots to rest. After the game, Wooster’s record fell to 0-2-2 for the season. Gabriel Thomas ’24 emphasized the importance of applying the lessons from this game in the future. “Mistakes are the best opportunity to learn, we need to take this game and learn from it moving forward.” Elliot Miller ‘26 furthered this sentiment exclaiming, “we are feeling upset on the way we let the game slide away from us; however, everyone on the team is committed to improving our quality and meeting our potential.”
Despite the negative result, the Scots put up a hard-fought battle, which signifies a potentially successful remainder of the season. Wooster amassed nine shots throughout the game, seven of which were on target. John Carroll took twice as many shots with eight of their eighteen shots being on goal. Goalkeeper Drew Beazley ’25 made four saves throughout the fixture, saving the Scots from a further deficit. However, John Carroll had the corner kick advantage, putting up eight kicks to Wooster’s three, though neither team managed to convert a goal from these set pieces.
Saturday’s game marked Wooster’s second loss of the season, their first being against Case Western Reserve University on Sept. 3. The Scots also tied in their games against Trine University and Westminster College on Sept. 1 and Sept. 7 respectively. Miles Rochester ’25 remains bullish on the team’s prospects, presciently declaring, “we will use this motivation to beat Heidelberg 6-0 on Tuesday.”
The Fighting Scots will continue their campaign on Saturday, Sept. 16 as they seek a first victory at home against Heidelberg University.
