FAIRBORN — The Wright State men’s soccer team’s battery appeared to be well beyond the “E” in the final third of the season, as the team went winless in October and appeared to be in trouble.
The Raiders’ hopes of advancing to the six-team Horizon League were slim, as they needed to win their final game against visiting Northern Kentucky and a few other results fell short.
“When teams get down in the hole, they might give up, but our guys really stayed strong and stayed connected,” first-year coach Alex Vandersruijs said.
“We could have felt sorry for ourselves. But we discussed that there are two types of people: warriors and victims. “We chose to be warriors. “
The Raiders defeated NKU 5-1 at home on Wednesday to match last month’s goal total, move to 0-4-2 and get the help they need to earn the sixth seed in the tournament .
They are 4-8-4 overall and 3-4-2 in conference play and will face third-seeded IUPUI in Indianapolis on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“One of the things we ask the team every day is, ‘Can we be loud? Can we play together? Can we play hard?’ You can’t have a great game every game, but you always can Do this,” said Vandersluys (pronounced Vander SLICE).
“We’re excited for the opportunity to keep going. It’s great to feel like you’ve come to the end and then come back fresh.”
The Raiders, who were the No. 2 seed last season but lost their first game, have had some misfortunes this season. Leading scorer Reece Allbaugh, a senior from Pickerington, missed four games in October with a concussion.
Two other key players, freshman Felix Ezekuka (mononucleosis) and sophomore Uche Odemena (broken foot), are both suffering from season-ending illnesses.
But the league is very tight. Oakland University won the championship with a 5-3 record with 15 points, Green Bay University, IUPUI and Detroit Mercy tied for second with 14 points, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Wright State University and Robert Morris University (missed the game due to tiebreaker) has 11 points.
“If you look at our conference, it’s almost unpredictable. On the last day of the league, four teams won and every team could finish in the top six. That’s how open it is,” Van Desruis said.
“I’m confident in our chances of winning this. These games usually come down to who makes the fewest mistakes and then who has one or two flashes of brilliance.”
Vandersruijs hopes the Raiders can solve their offensive woes. They trailed 29-17 until the final game.
But fifth-year player Jacob Adams scored two goals against Norway after scoring just once all season, while fifth-year player Dominic Roux from Alter Dominic Ruffolo scored his first goal of the year, as did third-year Carroll product Conner Osterholt. ball. second.
The Raiders are looking for their first tournament win since winning the title in 2019. That year, they won the NCAA first round against Notre Dame, but lost to Michigan in a penalty shootout.
“Obviously it’s a survival and progress mentality now. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. It’s all about getting results,” Van der Sluijs said.