On the heels of a disappointing 4-11-1 record last season, the Union men’s soccer team has already provided fans with reason for hope after starting 2-0-1. The undefeated start to the season has been fueled by an opportunistic offense led by reinforcements, including team leaders returning from injury and the current GSC Freshman of the Week.
The first goal of the young season came in the 28th minute of the season opener versus Ouachita Baptist University at home in the Smith Memorial Soccer Complex, a penalty kick scored by forward Christian Harjanne, a sophomore business major, making his return from injury. This sparked a first-half offensive effort that would continue as Union scored twice more before halftime, including goals by forwards Ashanie Kennedy, freshman business administration major, and Jacob Blue, sophomore business administration major. Union held Ouachita Baptist scoreless in the match.
The Bulldogs would continue to score consistently, jumping out to a 3-0 lead by the 47th minute at home versus Harding University. Harjanne made his second goal of the season to open the scoring, followed by goals from midfielders Chris Grill, a sophomore business administration major, and Tucker Cowles, a freshman mechanical engineering major. However, Harding was able to mount a second-half comeback to force a 3-3 tie. This would mark the second game in a row to start the season in which freshmen played a major role in Union’s offensive efforts.
Defender Hunter Santoscoy, a sophomore journalism major, recorded critical assists against both Harding and Trevecca Nazarene. He commented on the fast start and the impact his freshmen teammates had on the team.
“We have a really good outlook this season, I think a lot better than last year, which is exciting because last year is definitely not what we wanted,” Santoscoy said. “I think the team as a whole has just gotten a lot better. We got a lot of new good freshmen now. It’s exciting now to really see that.”
Kennedy was particularly impactful, and for his efforts was named Gulf South Conference (GSC) Freshman of the Week as he tallied one goal on 10 shots, including four shots on goal.
“It’s exciting because it’s like, especially for [Kennedy], there wasn’t really anybody in that position,” Santoscoy said. “So that was the position we needed to fill, and he came in and filled it really well. So it’s exciting to see somebody be able to do that.”
The Bulldogs tallied their second victory of the season on the road at Trevecca Nazarene University. Midfielder Kenny Nitzsche, a senior business administration major, scored first to give Union the early lead before Grill scored what would be the deciding goal as Union won 2-1. Kennedy was again a contributor, and goalkeeper Botund Nemeth, a senior business administration major, racked up 10 saves.
Nitzsche discussed his outlook on the season following the third game, including his excitement for their explosive offense.
“Feels great to win games again since we had just four wins last season. I think the team is looking very good,” Nitzsche said. “We’re scoring, everyone is on the same page. Everyone knows that we want to win. We showed the last teams: we’re actually a team who can score a lot of goals, and who can defend.”
The Bulldogs will look to stay undefeated as they visit Missouri S&T on Sunday, Sept. 10. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m.