Gabby Howell
gahowell@ursinus.edu
The Ursinus College Men’s Soccer team has started the season off strong with a record of 3-2, capturing their first three wins versus Albright, Gwynedd Mercy, and Neumann.
Senior defender and three-year captain Colin Klingman was a huge contributor to two of these wins, scoring two penalty kicks against Albright, bringing the score to 5-0 Ursinus, and put away his third PK of the season against Neumann to solidify a 3-1 win. Klingman shared, “Team goals for our team this year would be getting our first conference win in the last four years.”
With their already winning record and a strong freshmen class, a conference championship doesn’t seem too far out of reach.
In addition to a conference chip, Klingman said the team has set a goal to “finish mid-table in the conference, and [get] to our first conference tournament in the history of the soccer program. Our last team goal would be to finish at least .500.”
The Bears started off the season off 3-1, a feat Ursinus hadn’t accomplished since 2005, which gave the team a lot of confidence. “We had a mindset that we can have a successful current year, and compete in the conference. Although we started off the year strong, we had a mindset of continuing to get better for the start of conference play,” Klingman said.
Before their first conference game versus McDaniel, Klingman shared how the team was preparing: “Our team is focused on increasing our intensity and concentration to match McDaniel’s intensity this weekend. We are looking to get a big win this weekend to start off conference play at the top of [the] standings. We are really excited to be tested, and excited to start conference play.”
It didn’t work out, unfortunately, as the Bears fell to McDaniel 3-1. But the season remains promising.