Men’s soccer season finishes on down note with Bridgewater loss

The men’s Trailblazers soccer team finished their season with a disappointing loss against Bridgewater State. The team finishes their season with an overall record of 5-10-1 and a MASCAC conference record of 1-5-1.

Head coach Adam Hildabrand said of the season as a whole, “We’ve had mixed results. We showed promise in the preseason but we just weren’t consistent.”

One of the biggest things that Hildabrand will take away from the season is the importance of confidence in a team’s play.

“[We] need to develop inner confidence. [We] need to be able to handle setbacks. But, we also need to be able to handle success. We need an even keel.

A number of reoccuring problems have plagued the team, including an inability to capitlize on scoring oppurtunities, and a high number of fouls. MCLA racked up 13 yellow cards over the course of the season.

“That is a huge issue, fouling in our own half,” Hildabrand said. “That’s out of panic sometimes. We create our own problems.”

The coach also expressed frustration with the lack of scoring.

“There were times when we pounded on other teams and still lost.”
He elaborated, “In soccer, there are times when you win statistically but lose where it matter most: on the scoring line.”

Another issue the Blazers have run into is size. Hildabrand said, “Not enough of our guys are over six feet tall, or at least play like they are six feet tall.”

Hildabrand believes this size issue may feed into the penalties, as the team’s fouls are more noticeable.

The coaching staff is now also staring down the loss of nine outgoing seniors from his squad. However he believes there are exciting prospects coming up.

“We have a 32 man roster,” he said, “even with the loss of those nine guys. There are some very exciting players and I am looking forward to seeing them play.”

For goals, the team was lead by Joseph Mecca and Jake McCall with three goals each.

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