The men’s club soccer team had no reason not to be optimistic about the upcoming season. It had talent it had depth and it worked hard leading up to every game.
In some cases the Waves (1-6-2) couldn’t catch a break. In others the defense had lapses that the offense couldn’t recover and vice versa.
However one looks at it if a few bounces here or there were different the Waves could have had a stronger season.
“The results were not necessarily indicative of how we played said junior P.J. Clawson, co-captain of the team, along with sophomore Justin Rude. I was happy with the way we played especially – considering we didn’t have a coach.”
Their season wrapped up on Saturday at Cal State Northridge as the Waves took on an excellent Matador team that proved to be too much to handle. Although the team stayed close Pepperdine fell short 0-2 to end the season on a sour note.
The Waves trailed by one at halftime staying with the talented Northridge squad for most of the match. The team had some scoring opportunities yet it could not capitalize on the few chances the matadors provided.
Despite ending the season on a bitter note Clawson said the players should hold their heads high especially considering the improvements made from the year before.
“To last year there’s no comparison Clawson said. There were only two or three games [on the schedule] last season. So compared to last year it’s definitely way better. This year was also better in terms of the number of guys showing up to practices consistently. Toward the end of the year we really developed a lot more and played better … and we also played in some actual tournaments.”
The team’s future looks bright for next season according to Clawson as it does not have many seniors. Although he added they will lose a couple guys to overseas programs.
The team hopes to schedule even more games next year which will further its legitimacy as a force in men’s club soccer. With most of their players returning and a clear commitment to improvement from the players there is nothing but optimism on the squad moving forward for the Waves next season.