Sluggish Start to the Season

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the idea of having a sports season this fall was still in the air. However, the Minnesota State High School League approved some sports to take place, one of which being soccer. The New Ulm Eagles boys soccer team took this opportunity to play with great enthusiasm. Even with this news, the team had a slow start to the season, having a record of 1-3-2.

The Eagles lost their first two games against Worthington and St. Peter, two teams that consistently perform very well. They would follow up these games with both a tie and a loss against Marshall. The Eagles’ fifth game went much better, getting ahead 2-0 against Fairmont early in the game, but unable to keep the lead, the game resulted in a tie 4-4. Although the season hasn’t gone as well as hoped, spirits are still high according to goalkeeper Aaron Dewanz, who said, “We kept a positive attitude and we were resilient even when the chips were down.”

Even with these close games resulting in little to show for their efforts, the Eagles’ luck would turnaround against Fairmont, getting a quick goal in the first half and fending the Cardinals to get their first win. Midfielder Isaac Blumhoefer was impressed with the underclassman this game and in previous games, saying, “The underclassman had big shoes to fill this year, and so far they’ve really stepped up nicely, contributing to the team through both their play and drive.”

Coming off of the 1-0 win against Fairmont this last Tuesday, the team is hoping to take this momentum into the second half of the season, and start “racking up the wins,” Blumhoefer said.