Pacific University’s men’s soccer team struggled this season, suffering a drought in the win column. With conference standing at 4-12-1, the team lost nearly two-thirds of the games played, but players, fans and coaches remain positive about what this young team has to offer.
“We went in with high expectations,” said Coach Jim Brazeau, despite having lost nine seniors from the year before. “But things don’t always go according to plan.”
Brazeau articulated further some of the problems that held this year’s team back from the expected success that last year’s team achieved.
“They’re young. And we suffered from a lot of injuries,” he said.
One of those injured was key player Patrick Murray, whom Jim Brazeau pointedly said was their best.
Brazeau has plans and goals for the team, even after he wrapped up such a tough season, which is a positive sign for soccer fans on campus. The ideology the team is following is that they have to work to achieve success and get better everyday.
Their eyes are set ahead to building a more solid team.
“We have to continue to do good recruiting,” said Brazeau. “Everybody on the team has to get better.”
What the players will be doing this off-season is a lot of individual work out programs. They will lift on their own, and condition as well.
Freshman Alex Arrington played in every game this year. He is a player to keep an eye on as he develops and matures said Brazeau. Arrington did a lot of work this season with senior player Patrick Murray, who received a stress fracture to his foot this season which prohibited him from playing and put him out for the year.
Arrington also got a lot of advice from senior Connor Peterphans who also spent a lot of the season injured, suffering a concussion and was forced to deal with unspecified knee problems. Arrington said he really looks up to the pair and hopes to have as much an impact on the team in his coming competitions.
Arrington commented on what the team needs to do to prepare for the coming year.
“We’ve got to get in shape,” he said. “Last year we came in and had to spend a lot of time conditioning and that is time that we should have spent on the game.”
Arrington says he’s already preparing for a grueling off-season where he plans to get himself ready for action for the next fall season.
As far as the way things turned out for the men’s soccer team this year, there are a couple things fans need to look at before jumping to wild assumptions. First, Pacific graduated nine seniors last year and required players like Murray and Peterphans to hold down the fort. However, both suffered injuries and were limited in their contributions and what they could do for the team. Having been riddled with disappointment and unlucky breaks, Pacific aims to bring its young team about and make a run at a future title. They want to earn back fans support, and run over opponents the way they did last year.
Brazeau, who said he is thankful for his fans for their undying support, also said regarding this past season, “It’s not good enough. At the end of the day, it’s disappointing.” A moment passed and he added, “We will do better.”
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