With preseason wrapped up, the Emerson men’s soccer team hoped to bounce back from a 2-3-1 start, which included a 3-0 shutout by Rhode Island on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The 57-degree rainy weather did little to deter the team’s spirits as they faced Springfield at Rotch Field on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Defense was Emerson’s calling card in the first half, as they successfully kept Springfield out of scoring position by deflecting any shots that entered the Pride’s final third. Sophomore goalkeeper Beckett Hobbs tallied four saves in the game’s first 45 minutes. The Lions aggressively found opportunities of their own on offense, attempting five shots in the first half—two of which were on goal. The closest Emerson got was a low-center shot by senior forward Teddy Bushara with 23 minutes elapsed, which was saved by Springfield’s keeper.
Both teams kept the intensity up in the second half. Hobbs saved a low left shot in the 54th minute, while offensively, junior midfielder Diego Garcia-Ocampo’s shot in the 59th minute was blocked. The Lions and Pride were still locked in defensively by the middle of the period, with Emerson blocking two straight Springfield attempts with nearly 62 minutes gone by.
The Lions failed to capitalize on several breakaway opportunities in the 73rd minute. They had another chance with a corner kick 12 minutes later, as a header by first-year midfielder Riler Selman missed right. Springfield found the back of the net seconds later, scoring on a breakaway run with five minutes to play. Emerson failed to equalize in the closing moments, falling to 2-4-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Lions tallied eight shots—including three on goal—and eight corner kicks for the game, while Springfield had seven of their 13 on goal and three corner kicks.
“It was a really, really tough ending,” head coach Liam McKersie said. “[I] thought we battled, we were so close to keeping a clean sheet. A lot of guys stepped up in different ways. But I think coming out of today, it’s going to be more, unfortunately, learning about what we need to do better. The positives are gonna be, ‘Okay, there’s clearly a light shining on where we need to grow,’ rather than reinforcing things we did well today.”
McKersie also touched on the contributions of the newcomers, a group that includes eight freshmen and five transfer students.
“[The first-year players] have come in with a really positive, hungry energy,” he said. “All eight of them are fearless … All 13 new members to the team as well: two sophomore transfers, a junior, [and] two [graduate] transfers. All of them have completely changed our personnel and our energy, so it’s been very positive.”
The team’s last two seasons have been a rollercoaster, from reaching the NEWMAC finals in 2022 to going 0-6-2 in conference play the following year. McKersie noted while both experiences have brought “flashes of success,” consistency will be key going forward.
“What we’re really focused on is how we can be sustainably successful,” he said. “It’s getting us glimpses of what we have done well in periods, but [we are trying to figure out] ‘How can we sustainably [and] consistently be at that level?’ So, it’s given us some hope and confidence, but also more hunger and drive to get to that level and get higher.”
Following a 2-0 loss to No. 5 Tufts on Tuesday, Sept. 24, the men’s soccer team will return to Rotch Field to face the WPI Engineers on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m.
