Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Sept. 26, 2014, edition 1 / Page 11
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Men^s soccer team recovers following rough early season The Guilford College men’s soccer team celebrates their 3-2 win against Ferrum College at a home game on Sept. 16, making a comeback from their losing streak and earning second win of the season. BY BANNING WATSON Staff Writer It looks like it is comeback time for the Guilford College men's soccer team. After a rough start to the season where the team dropped their first five games the team has recently posted a three-game winning streak. "Winning fixes everything," said Jeffrey Bateson, head men's soccer coach. "Once they get that win and realize they can do it, it makes a difference. We were not an 0-5 type team." This year's team, comprised mostly of first-years and sophomores, had trouble finding their rhythm in some tough early match-ups. "Because we are a yoxmg team, I tried to set a pretty tough schedule. just to get us weathered," said Bateson. "I was expecting maybe 2-3 at the worst. We made a lot of fixable mistakes." Dave Walters, assistant athletics director and sports information director, was more lenient m his assessment of the reasons behind the early season losses. "Any time you have new students, especially those coming from high school to college, that's a pretty big transition," said Walters. "It's going to take some time for them to adjust to so many different facets of life, never mind soccer." During the offseason the team lost 14 seniors to graduation and several others to transfers. The team refilled its rosters with lowerclassmen and transfer students. Bateson is proud of the leadership displayed by the current senior members of the team, particularly their ability to keep the team motivated and optimistic. The team made its first bid at a tumaroimd in game five. In a match-up against North Carolina Wesleyan, the Quakers started to find their stride — scoring two goals in the first half. Unforhmately, the opposition mounted a comeback and won 5-3. "I'm disappointed that we gave it away," Bateson said. "But that game taught us that we are good enough to score." The tide finally turned vs Washington and Lee. The Sept. 12 match gave the Quaker men their first victory of the season, with both goals scored in the first half by senior forward Rob Sandridge. "I was thrilled to see, starting with the Washington and Lee mat^ the team really started to turn aroimd and develop some consistency," said Walters. "They really started to come together the way I'm sure Coach expected." Next, against Ferrum, the team faced a more rigorous challenge, with an early Quaker 2-0 lead coimtered by two goals via Ferrum's Keith Ricks. The game went to double overtime and was finally won through a masterful header by Guilford sophomore midfielder Jonny Goffredi off a long free kick. Finally, Guilford's 1-0 shutout victory against Randolph-Macon not only made the Quakers' third straight win of the season but also marked Bateson's 100th career win. The team has 10 games left in the season, including nine against Old Dominion Athletic Conference colleges and one non-conference game. "Our goal this year, as every year, is to m^e the C)DAC tournament and finish in the top four so we can host a playoff game," said Bateson. "IT s stiU too early to tell how the rest of the season will turnout, but the team's mood is good and personally I'm optimistic." The team captains, seniors Brandon Rothfuss and Colin Dillon, are optimistic as well. "We're just starting to get into a groove, but I think it's too soon to say the turnaround is complete," said Rothfuss. "We know the work ahead and are up for the challenge." Offensive lineman shares his story BY REESE SETZER Staff Writer Hogmollies. Big uglies. Both of these terms are used to describe offensive linemen, but the terms do not bother them. In fact, those nicknames are more of a compliment than anything else. I would know. I wear number 61 for Guilford's football team and play center position. For those unfamiliar with football, the center is the person who snaps the football to begin a play. Guilford has 22 offensive linemen on the 2014 football roster. Each of us plays a different role on the team, but each role is equally as important as the next. The five positions on an offensive line work as a unit: each guy must block his assignment to make a play work. A blown assignment could result in anything from a sack to a loss of yardage or a turnover. Though when every assignment is blocked correctly, football is like watching a work of art. There is nothing better than seeing a hole open up for a running back or ensuring that no one gets near your quarterback. That is our job. But other than getting praise from our coaches or from the guys that scored, we do not usually see much of the spotlight. Quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and defensive players will show up on a post-ame stat line, but how well a guy blocked does not. We do not score touchdowns or make tackles; we block. Many people ask, "Why would someone want to play offensive line? Why would someone want to put their body on the line for 70+ snaps per game? Why would someone practice as hard as you do each day?" The answer is simple. We love it. The majority of us have been playing offensive line for 10-15 years. We are used to not getting the publicity. But, we ‘know how important we are in making our team successful. Particularly when you are a part of a unit that played a crucial role in the team being 3-0 to start the year. The first time Guilford has started 3-0 since 2007. It was not easy. This past game against Southern Virginia proved to be our toughest task yet. After three quarters of tough, smash- mouth football the game came down to the end of the fourth quarter. With 3:28 left, winning 35-27, the game was put into our offensive line's hands to run the clock out: "run to win," as our coaches put it. We were up to the task. Each play, we ground out more and more time, bashing the defensive line as if we were two trains meeting on the same train track. After getting our last first down on a sweep play, we took a victory kneel. We then proceeded to sing our fight song "Brave Ole' Guilford Team!" a post-victory tradition. We are your Guilford football team, proud to be 3-0, aware there is still work to be done, our eyes fixed on an ODAC Championship. SPORTS EDITORIAL Athlete dri^ testing is unfair BY MOLLY SCHNEIDER Staff Writer In a small college like Guilford, student athletes are a major part of the community. On top of carrying the workload most traditional students are burdened with, they must balance their athletic duties. The men's basketball team, for example, practices six days a week and has two games a week in season. "You really have to manage your time well," said Zachary Houston, a sophomore on the men's team. "On top of school work you have basketball practice, games and a social life." Although Guilford is a tight-knit community, there is one divide that has been talked about amongst the student body for a while, and that is the student-athlete and traditional student divide. Student-athletes in general have a lot of extra pressures put on them compared to their peers. When it comes to a social life, and what you choose to do off the court, athletes have even less choice. They must tread lightly because if they do anything • . that ,could be perceived by v'admujistration to, make. they* team, or Guilford, look bad, there are harsh repercussions. A lot of traditional students do not realize that a consequence of playing at Guilford as a student-atWete means you are routinely drug- tested. Senior Hannah Schewel is a student here and represents Guilford as a member of our community equally to anyone else. "Drug testing student- athletes is an unfair double standard," said Schewel. "I understand performance- enhancing drugs, but noh-student athletes are out there smoking and drinking recreationally, and just because athletes play sports shouldn't mean Guilford should be able to drug test them for what they do socially outside of practice and games." In conducting a 2013 national study of substance use habits of college student- athletes, the NCAA surveyed around 21,000 student- athletes in different sports and divisions. They found that 32.9 percent had used marijuana at least once, and 22 percent of thos^ had used in the last year. Student-athletes often turn ,fb reCTeati6hal!’drugs to help manage the pain and fatigue of the sport they play. Is it really realistic to hold athletes to such an antiquated standard, stacking even more pressure onto their education path than they already have? If athletes are getting tested, theoretically should not honors students, community volunteers or students with scholarships be getting drug tested too? It would erase the double standard, but it would also be difficult to drug-test almost every student at Guilford, especially considering the loss revenCte the sdlbol wb'tild' incur. "When I was on the baseball team, I was chosen to get drug tested," said Noel Edward Anthony Baker III, senior and former baseball player. "I failed, and when I put it into perspective, I decided to quit the team because I couldn't take the chance that I'd get suspended from school and jeopardize my education." Baker and other student- athletes should not lose their place at Guilford due to their need to seek a way to repair the damage to their bodies they sustain promoting the Guilford name through sport. Nor should a school based on the Quaker value of equality incentivize a double standard.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Sept. 26, 2014, edition 1
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