The men’s and women’s soccer teams finished their seasons this week.
Both teams ended their seasons with the semifinals of the men’s and women’s Sooner Athletic Conference Tournaments.
The men played against the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on Nov. 9 at Drover Pitch at USAO in Chickasha, Okla. The Stars lost 3-2.
Sophomore Forward Logan Stewart scored his seventh goal of the season to help bring the Stars within one point of the Drovers, but the team was unable to complete the comeback.
“The semifinal game was rough,” Stewart said. “We didn’t play too well at the beginning, but we hung on and started to pick it up later in the game. It still didn’t end in our favor.”
The men finished the season with an 8-9 record while USAO improved to 18-2.
The women played against John Brown (Ark.) on Nov. 10 at Stars Field. The Stars lost 1-0.
Freshman Midfielder Sara Ricks came close to tying the game but the ball went over the bar.
“Last night’s game was an upset,” Junior Defender Keeley Brewer said. “I know as a team we had higher hopes and were wanting to go way further than we did. But we played so hard and I’m very proud of every one of my teammates for how they played.”
The women finished the season with a record of 12-5-1 while the Golden Eagles improved to 13-6-1.
“This season went so well,” Brewer said. “We had a very talented group of women willing to work for each other and play their hardest in every game.”
The men did not feel as confident in their season.
“We could have done better,” Stewart said. “We started off rocky and gradually got better, but still wasn’t good enough in my opinion.”
It was difficult to pull a team together in a short amount of time with 10 newcomers, Sophomore Goalkeeper and Captain Vladimir Kalajdzic said.
Kalajdzic was named SAC men’s soccer goalkeeper of the year, earning his second first-team all-SAC honors. He had 91 saves and four shutouts for the season, and he recorded a season-high of 11 saves during the semifinals game.
“It was nice to know that people see my hard work and contribution,” Kalajdzic said. “However, I would be five times happier if I did not win it and we still went to nationals. We are all just pieces of our big soccer puzzle and my award is their award. They deserve it just as much as I do.”
Stewart along with Junior Defender Aron Chapman, Freshman Midfielder Petar Djurdjevic and Sophomore Midfielder Alexandre Taiar were named to the second-team all-SAC for men’s soccer.
Senior Defender Ailee Thompson was named SAC women’s soccer player of the year and offensive player of the year.
“I have my team to credit for the accomplishments,” Thompson said. “No one player can achieve anything on their own, soccer is a team sport and I have my team to thank for being strong and technical, my coaches for being wise, and the Lord for being the one to give our team the strength to succeed.”
Editor’s note: Senior Defender Allie Glazner is Circulation Director for Student Publications and was named SAC defensive player of the year.
Leave a Reply