The Emory University men’s soccer team extended its win streak to eight games this weekend, comfortably defeating University of the Ozarks (Ark.) 4-0 on Sept. 19 and Hendrix College (Ark.) 5-1 the following day. The victories propelled the team to a No. 2 national ranking in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, the team’s highest ranking since 2003.
On Friday, the Eagles netted three goals within the first 28 minutes, with graduate forward Ignacio Cubeddu, junior forward Lorenzo Avalos and graduate midfielder Jack Burgess each scoring. Burgess’ first ever goal for the Eagles was certainly memorable as he converted a remarkable one-time strike from distance before adding to his tally with another goal in the second half to ice the game.
Junior goalkeeper Geoffrey Halpern continued his impressive start, recording his third solo clean sheet of the young season. He credited a relaxed mentality as well as his teammates’ performances for his strong start.
“I always tell them before games, ‘My ideal game is I don’t face any shots, and you guys make me look really good,’” Halpern said. “They’ve been on their game this season. ... They’re really good at what they do, so it makes my life really easy.”
Co-captain and junior midfielder Logan Steren emphasized the mental approach to the game, stating that the team is focused on staying poised and playing together.
“Just taking things one play at a time, and trying to stay as a unit on the field,” Steren said. “90 minutes is a long time, we’re all going to make mistakes in the game. It’s about covering each other's backs so when we get good opportunities, we know we have to capitalize.”
On Saturday, the Eagles did just that, as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over Hendrix with goals from Cubeddu and co-captain and senior midfielder Josh Grand. Hendrix quickly countered with a goal of their own before Grand doubled his scoring tally to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead. The Eagles refused to take their foot off the gas en route to a commanding 5-1 victory.
Associate head coach Clayton Schmitt is in the midst of his ninth year on the men’s soccer staff. The veteran coach said it has been encouraging to see things they emphasize in practice, such as creating more scoring opportunities, turn into positive results during the game.
“That part is, from a coaching perspective, really rewarding and enjoyable,” Schmitt said. “To be able to take what we think will work, put it into training and then seeing the work of that come to fruition and result in us scoring some good goals.”
Schmitt also praised the co-captains for stepping into leadership roles early this season. He said Grand’s positional flexibility and Steren, as well as co-captain and junior defender Michael Constant’s contributions, have helped the team maintain the level of success they expect.
“Those in particular have done a really good job of making sure that the standards that we set for ourselves on the field or off the field as a program, and also in the classroom, have helped us keep accountable,” Schmitt said. “They’ve been a huge part to us having that early-season success despite some new pieces coming in.”
While this season’s undefeated streak into late September ranks amongst their strongest start in the program’s recent history, Steren noted that the team is hungry for more success.
“We want to be the team that people go after,” Steren said. “People say it’s hard to climb the mountain, it’s even harder to stay there and that’s our mentality. We want to get to the top, and then ultimately stay there throughout the season.”
Much of the work to help keep the team at the top of the mountain was put in before the season started, according to Steren. He said the team’s offseason work ethic is a major factor driving their success.
“We trained in the spring at 6 a.m., 6:30, and we lift right after,” Steren said. “That hard work in the spring, and then through the summer, just guys taking it upon themselves playing at a high level. Whether that’s summer league, training, doing everything we can to get right for the season.”
The offseason work is clearly paying off, evidenced by the team’s winning streak. Halpern said a specific possession against Berry College (Ga.) showcased their chemistry as a unit.
“It was a really good sequence of possession where everybody was involved, a lot of movement throughout the whole team, really quick one-two-touch passing,” Halpern said. “It looked really easy and that was really nice to see. Everyone was on the same page.”
The team will look to continue their stellar start when they face Piedmont University (Ga.) on Sept. 24.
