By Ana Braccialli

After a few difficulties at the beginning of the season that led to consecutive losses, the men’s soccer team proved once again that they can fight as Spartans.

On Wednesday, Sep. 19, the Spartans won their first game of the season by defeating Eckerd with a 2-1 score. Marcel Salokat, grad student forward, and Juancho Fernandez, junior forward, made their second goals of the season.

“It was a huge relief [to win] because we’ve been working very hard and finally we had a result in our favor,” Ramzi Toure, senior defender, said. “Playing at Eckerd and taking all three points back home is not an easy task so the fact that we did this really helped boost the morale of the group.”

The players were not the only ones to be happy with the results. Spartans’ fan also got excited about the first win of the season.

“Is good to see that they are getting back on track,” Nicholas Berneng, junior sports management major, said. “I’ve gone to their games since my freshman year, so I’ve seen their ups and downs. So, watching them getting the W again was a good feeling.”

Is not a secret that having a strong mentality is crucial in any sports. According to Toure, they stepped in the field with the mindset of being ruthless and putting a purpose in everything they were doing that night.

“We looked hungry and we played with our hearts,” Toure said. “This was a night we were on top of our game and we can definitely bring the same mindset into the upcoming games.”

The following game that they played was against PBA, their biggest rival and member of the SSC. Even though it was clear to all the fans that they played with a different attitude, it wasn’t enough for them to win.

Palm Beach Atlantic University is number two in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) and in the NCAA Division II standings.

A big part of this tough season is because of the many injuries the team is suffering and the fact that out of 23 new players, 15 are freshman, according to bush.

“Considering many factors the team is doing fantastic and the players are working so hard.” Bush said.

Their focus is to qualify for the SSC conference tournament, which is the top six teams of the conference. After that, it can get them an NCAA bid, according to Toure.

“I have been in this league long enough to know anything can happen,” Bush said. “The SSC is hands down the toughest conference in the country. We must stay the course and focus on each game at a time.”

The next game will at home on Saturday, Oct. 6, against an SSC team, Barry University at 6 p.m.

Ana Braccialli can be reached out at ana.braccialli@theminaretonline.com