Following a 7-game win streak, an undefeated October, and a 12-4 regular season record, the Marian Ancilla Men's Soccer team earned themselves a spot in the Region 12 Tournament this weekend. Saturday, they faced the NJCAA Division II #17 Schoolcraft Ocelots. The two teams met on September 25th, with Schoolcraft securing a decisive 6-0 victory. Round-2 proved to be much closer, but the Ocelots again prevailed, 3-0, ending the Chargers' season, but it was an outstanding match with great improvement shown by MUAC.
The Chargers knew they had to play a defensive chess match and potentially try to get to penalty kicks, if possible. For a good portion of the match, it looked like it was headed that way. Marian Ancilla was outshot 8-2 in the first half (23-3 overall), with Redshirt Freshman Goalkeeper Trent Platz making a couple of nice 1-on-1 saves before halftime. He showed why he won consecutive MCCAA Goalkeeper of the Week awards in October.
Unfortunately for Marian Ancilla, in the 75th one of the Chargers was served his second yellow card, ending in a red card, and Schoolcraft was able to take advantage on a penalty kick, as Ocelot Ziad Barakat found the back of the net. With a little over 15 minutes remaining, the Chargers had to go on the offensive and take chances, opening up the defensive half a bit, and allowing Schoolcraft to find more opportunities, eventually scoring again in the 82nd and 83rd minutes, for the final 3-0 tally.
Despite the loss, the Men's Soccer team represented Marian Ancilla extremely well, and Head Coach Kirk Weiss was extremely proud of the team. "These young men played an amazing team game. [I am] so proud of them for leaving everything out on the field. Going toe to toe with the #17 team in the nation shows how far these guys have come...the final score doesn't tell the whole story. I am so happy for the sophomores who couldn't go to the tournament last year, to be able to make it this year! And for our freshmen to get a taste of the tournament, they are now focused to accomplish even more next season."
Coach Weiss also offered congratulations to both Platz (above) and Freshman defender Zach Huff for making the all-tournament team. Congratulations to those two, the rest of the team, and the coaches for an outstanding 2024 season. You represented the university well, and the Charger community is proud of you!!