After returning all but one starter from last year’s COVID-19-shortened 6-1 campaign, the men’s soccer team again found themselves at the top of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rankings.
It started with a 3-0 win against University of Texas-Permian Basin and a 2-1 win against MSU Billings a week later. That momentum transferred over into a win over their first ranked opponent #19 Simon Fraser as they won 5-0 on Sept.16.
Much of the credit goes to first year head coach Jon Fridal.
Fridal, who is coming off a successful coaching stint at Eastern New Mexico University, stresses the importance of preparation and growth, on and off the field .
“The guys understand our system, particularly the returners, so we are really pushing them to be accountable for their individual performance and a lot of that starts with preparation during the summer, before and after training, in the classroom, etc,” Fridal said.
The team entered the year with high expectations and has only succeeded them. Through their first 5 games, they’ve earned an undefeated record and have outscored their opponents 13-2.
“We just take things one game at a time, one performance at a time. We aren’t afraid to fail, we just want to ensure we put our best performance on the field each game. If we are successful in doing that I think we’ll reach the goals we’ve set this year,” Fridal said.
The players are buying in Fridal’s growing culture, and it shows. Forwards Alec Fronapfel and Joey Joiner and midfielder Chris Boyd have taken the brunt of goal scoring while Connor Durant and a strong defensive unit have shut down their opponents; the result being a number ten national ranking in Division II Men’s Soccer.
“The teamwork and hard work we put into training has really made us click. The culture has meshed together very well with a mix of new players and returning starters. I think the struggle has brought us closer together. Me and Alec have had a year under our belts to play together so I think both of us will have good years as forwards and are clicking well together,” Joiner said.
Fridal and company are keeping things in perspective as they start the season undefeated. They know that all the hard work is paying off but they have to keep it up if they want to continue the success they are having.
“I think that the success to start the season has been a big part of the team coming together. We worked hard in our preseason and have come together as a team. With a few injuries to some guys who played a lot last year, other people have come into the team and stepped up. Coach has got us going in the right direction and we have to keep pushing in these games to get results. Starting undefeated is great, but we have a lot of hard games coming up that we need to get ready for,” Fronapfel said.
Looking forward, the team will head to Salt Lake City, Utah to begin conference play against Westminster College after wrapping up their road trip to Texas where they saw their first loss of the season in a 1-2 game against Fort Hays State University.
The game against Westminster College will take place on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
