After a blistering start to the season, the Scots struggled this week in both fixtures, failing to make much of an impact against the opposition. On Wednesday Sept. 18, the team traveled to Iowa Wesleyan for a non-conference matchup.
The initial exchanges of the game were fairly even, but the Scots were struggling to match the tempo and energy of the home side. After the mandatory drink break, the home side opened the scoring with a header, taking the lead 1-0 into halftime. The Scots came out in the second half looking to put in a better showing than the first half. They were; however, unable to deal with the opposition’s flare and passionate style of play, and conceded four more goals in the second half. A rare highlight was Nico Esparon ’22 scoring the lone goal for the Scots as he showed a lot of fight and determination throughout the game. The Scots were humbled, losing 5-1.
The initial exchanges of the game were fairly even, but the Scots were struggling to match the tempo and energy of the home side. After the mandatory drink break, the home side opened the scoring with a header, taking the lead 1-0 into halftime. The Scots came out in the second half looking to put in a better showing than the first half. They were; however, unable to deal with the opposition’s flare and passionate style of play, and conceded four more goals in the second half. A rare highlight was Nico Esparon ’22 scoring the lone goal for the Scots as he showed a lot of fight and determination throughout the game. The Scots were humbled, losing 5-1.
Last Saturday, Monmouth traveled to Central College in another non-conference matchup. Central came in with a strong record, which was going to be a tough challenge for the Scots. After a sluggish opening to the game, the Scots managed to find their rhythm and matched it with the home team. All the action occurred in the second half, as Central took the lead in the 50th minute. Monmouth was able to respond; however, with a gazelle like leap from forward Reid Sondgeroth ’23 to set up Lukas Nillson ’20 for a delightful finish. Despite a strong and persistent performance, the Scots failed to match the intensity of the game for the full ninety minutes and conceded two more goals in a tiring final ten minutes. It was; however, a much improved performance, and gave the Scots some confidence heading into the final game before conference matches.
Last Tuesday featured a home game against Coe College; a last opportunity to fine tune some things before some big games this weekend. After a dominant display in the opening exchanges, the Scots were finally rewarded with a fine finish from cult hero Nico Esparon ’22 who pounced on a feed from the ever reliable Cadan Glattback ’20. Alvaro Alvarez ’21 furthered the Scots advantage, claiming his fourth goal of the season. The game was wrapped up in the second half with Martin Zafirov ’20 finishing at the end after having hit both posts previously. The Scots were 3-0 winners on a comfortable afternoon in Monmouth.
The Scots now turn their attention to conference, with a road trip to Wisconsin to challenge conference fancies St. Norbert and Beloit.
Want to catch a game? Visit https://monmouthscots.com/schedule.aspx?path=msoc to see a full season schedule.
Kieren Marshall - Contributing Writer