By Lauren Price
Well, it sure was an exciting season opening scrimmage for the men’s soccer team. The Maroons hosted the Randolph Wildcats on August 25th, the first home event of the season. The Roanoke student body was incredibly excited to show up and support their classmates for this occasion. The energy was ecstatic, which led the Maroons to an impressive victory of 7-0 against the Wildcats. Although this game does not count toward the final record, it showed that the Maroons are tough competitors that shouldn’t be taken lightly. The men then went on to host the Catholic University Cardinals on August 30th. A non-conference match-up proved to be slightly more difficult for the Maroons, but there was nothing the ferocious team couldn’t handle. The game was low scoring in the first half with one goal by Michael Ramsey, which was assisted by Will Fatzinger.
After a quick team meeting for half time, the Maroons came prepared with Slate Danforth scoring right out of the gate! The enthusiasm continued for both teams with many shots towards the goal and many saves by goalie Luca Gustafson. Although Catholic University scored on a penalty kick, the Maroons kept fighting and scored another goal at seventy-three minutes in. This goal was scored by Michael Ramsey, his second goal of the match. Catholic’s Joe DeAngelis scored approximately five minutes later, leading to a final score of 3-2 with a sweet Maroons’ victory. Way to go! In the upcoming week ahead, the Maroons have two games in the upcoming week in Atlanta, Georgia, in the Ogelthorpe Tournament, which may be livestreamed. On Friday, September 6th, the Maroons face off against the Stormy Petrels of Ogelthorpe University meanwhile on the 8th the Maroons will play the Emory University Eagles.
