Men’s soccer looks to “turn the corner” this season as the team will be keying in on their season goal which is to crack the top six of the MIAC standings this season.

“The goal is to turn the corner,” head coach Alex Morawiecki said. “When I say that, it’s to reach that next level. We want to turn that competitiveness into results.”

Morawiecki is entering his third season as the head coach for the Pipers and he wants his team to piece together the success the program has made the past two years to produce better results. He wants to see those results reflected in the win column.

“This is my third season, each year we’ve gotten better. Last year, we’ve come off with a number of first in a long time. We doubled our win total, best season overall since 2007,” Morawiecki said.

This season, the Pipers had their best start since 2006 when they opened the season 3-0-1. During that span, senior goalkeeper Derrick Mora recorded three shutouts. In their third victory of the season, the Pipers were able to come back after being down 1-0 in the first half. Senior Gilbert Ghong scored early in the second half and in overtime first-year Oscar Campbell, assisted by senior Tyler Tallaksen, scored the game winning goal as the Pipers prevailed 2-1.

However, the Pipers fell off during their next three matches leading up to Macalester. They lost their two nonconference games in Washington–against Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran–and their conference season opener at St. John’s. During this slide, the Pipers were outscored 10-1.

Morawiecki said the strength of the nonconference team’s they played will pay dividends for the Pipers later this season.

“We started very strong [then] we played against some good non-conference opponents that kind of exposed us a little bit,” Morawiecki said. “We’ve made some corrections. Down the stretch we’ll be rewarded for playing a good non-conference slate.”

Some of the corrections the Pipers have been making are finding ways to be more dynamic with their offensive attack and trying to find ways to put the pressure on their opponents by maintaining possession. If they can arrange an effective strategy to do so, it can be a tool they use in the long run.

On Saturday, Sept. 20, the Pipers faced the Macalester Scots at Macalester Stadium.

Coming into the game, Morawiecki was confident the team had an effective game plan to put his team in a position to win.

“We’ve created a number of good opportunities. Now we just have to finish the plays we’re creating, so making a play just comes down to making a play,” Morawiecki said.

Morawiecki said he felt the Pipers were pretty much even to the Scots.

“It will be a great match,” Morawiecki said. “[Macalester is a] very competitive group, technically sharp. They are very systematic, they work hard. I think it will be a very good matchup, two teams that play good soccer. I think it will come down to whatever team makes one more play.”

During the match, it was just that. The Scots knocked in a goal in the first half to give them an early 1-0 lead over the Pipers.

Afterwards, the Pipers’ first-year goalkeeper Jacob Duxbury tightened up. In the beginning of the second half, Duxbury jumped and clutched the ball between both of his hands to record a save; he finished the day with three. He went on to only allow one more goal, which was off a penalty kick.

Throughout the match both teams were even as they also matched the same total number of shots on goal with 15 and shots on frame with six.

The Pipers put some pressure on the Scots as they forced a few close calls, however, the Scots’ goalie didn’t budge. The Scots’ goalkeeper recorded four saves, including a one-handed deflection and his knee deflecting a header on frame.

The Scots defeated the Pipers 2-0. The Pipers are now 0-2 in conference play but they have a good chunk of the conference season remaining to see how their goal of cracking the MIAC top six will pan out.

Later this afternoon, the Pipers will host UW-Superior at Pat Paterson Fields before heading to St. Olaf for their third conference game of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

The Pipers were defeated 1-0 by St. Olaf at Pat Paterson Fields last year. With a conference game on the line, Morawiecki will definitely be looking for his squad this year to “turn the corner.”

As it’s early in the season, Morawiecki said one of the things he likes about this squad is the culture of the team. He said the returners who have been with him for years really see his vision and are passing it down to the newcomers who are embracing the team’s atmosphere.

“We’ve had great leadership from our seniors. They’ve done a really nice job of getting us off on the right foot,” Morawiecki said. “Overall, we’ve got a great personality. We got a lot of new guys, incoming freshmen that really embraced their role in terms of learning.”

Morawiecki continued.

“We’ve got a number of good pieces skill wise, but also the guys work well together,” he said. “Overall, it’s just a group of guys working really hard and enjoying soccer….they realize it’s not rocket science.”