NEIL RILEY

Editor-in-Chief

Consistency is something the Big Red men’s soccer team has struggled with all season long, especially on offense.

The squad welcomed a pair of conference rivals (Wabash on Tuesday and Kenyon on Saturday) to Granville this past week and was shut out in both matches. 

Ryan Albers ‘20, a defender who has started 12 games this season, blamed execution rather than the coach’s strategy for the recent struggles.

“I think we dominated the game against Wabash and against Kenyon the first 25 minutes of the game was some of the best soccer I’ve seen us play. I just think it comes down to executing the game play for the entire game.”

Denison outshot Wabash 15-8, but failed to land any in the back of the goal over the course of the evening.  In the 27th minute, Jack Thomas ‘18, the DU goalkeeper was fooled by a chip from a Wabash attacker.  That would prove to be the only goal of the night, despite an attempt from Big Red forward Kyle Skinner ‘17, which was cleared inches from crossing the goal line. 

The frustration continued on Saturday against Kenyon, who entered the match with a record of 11-2.  Within the first minute, Skinner knocked a header toward goal, but could not hit the mark, sending it past the right post.  The Big Red would be unable to record a shot on goal, while the Lords’ 21 chances materialized into only one goal in the 59th minute. 

Kenyon has allowed only nine goals through 13 matches this season, and their strong defense has helped carry them to a 4-1 NCAC record.

Creating more chances will be an important factor for the Big Red’s success going forward.

“As far as creating more chances I think we need to be more clinical,” Albers said.  “We need to capitalize on the chances we do get. I think more fluidity in the attack would help us create more scoring opportunities.”

Albers did, however, emphasize that the team feels prepared for the final four games of the season.

“For the remainder of the season our focus is simple: take one game at a time. We have a very talented team, we just need to focus on the task at hand and make sure we are all on the same page.”

The Big Red will return to action on Oct. 19 at Wooster.