(September 13, 2023) Enid, Oklahoma - The men were coming off two of their better matches of the season and got their first victory over NEO on Sunday. The Bucks were hoping to continue that momentum at the site of the Region II Soccer Tournament: Advance Soccer Complex. UARM and Northern have quite the history with one another in the 4 season span. The men have played a few times in the tournament, once in the finals, with UARM coming out victorious. The Bucks won both matchups last season over the Mavericks, now turned Jets with the move to the Enid campus.  

UARM defended very well for most of the first half as they conceded Enid a lot of the ball, but they didn't really threaten the UARM goal. With 30 seconds to go in the half, Enid wanted one last chance of a goal before time ran out so the obvious quickest route to goal was to hit it long and hope. Unfortunately, the UARM defenders didn't read the game situation and were caught standing high up the field. Enid pounced on the long ball and finished into an empty net to take the 1-0 lead at the half.

The long ball tactic worked again in the second half for Enid, scoring easily after getting in behind a stationary back line. Conceding goals from long balls has been a pattern for UARM as has giving the ball away in dangerous positions for opponents to counter. This is exactly what happened for a late third goal as a pass into midfield was given away, and Enid counter attacked past the motionless defenders for an easy tap in. UARM almost got onto the scoresheet in the last minute, but Juan Olguin (Vincente Lopez, Argentina) was denied on the goal line by a diving tackle. The Bucks lost 3-0. 

After the game, Coach Sherry stated, "Despite the work we put in during the week to correct the biggest mistakes we make as a team defensively, we still continue to make the same errors time and time again and getting punished.  It is frustrating for everyone involved and we just have to keep working hard to fix these errors, hopefully sooner than later."

The men now have a week off before returning to action at home on Wednesday, September 20th, against Rose State College. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 pm.

#DefendTheMountain