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Pirates’ soccer building from the ground up

  [caption id="attachment_15977" align="aligncenter" width="838"]Senior Sarah Cortes has earned five points between her two goals and assist. Photo via SHU Athletics Senior Sarah Cortes has earned five points between her two goals and assist. Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption] Seton Hall men’s and women’s soccer have struggled recently. Specifically, in the past five seasons, neither team has had a winning campaign. Those five seasons have left the two teams with a combined 13-52-6 record in Big East Conference games. Last year, the men’s team was unable to win a game and the women’s team only picked up two. Thus far the two programs have picked up the pace, but there needs to be more improvement to ensure a competitive team for years to come. Building starts from the ground up. The men’s soccer team has made good use of their young players. Andres Arcila, a sophomore, is at the top of the list in playing time with 1149 minutes of action. His name is all over the Big East leaderboards, as he is seventh in points and eighth in goals in the conference with six as of Oct. 26. Alex Sobesky and Brandon Sabinsky are two more sophomores who have matured and grown with more time on the field. Jonathon Jimenez, a freshman, has the potential to do even more if given the opportunity. These young players can be the ones who change the program around, and gaining experience is the best way to do so. The same is true for the women’s team. With Sarah Sweinberg and Siobhan McGovern both getting opportunities as freshmen, they can lead the change to come for the program. Another important piece for the young Pirates is sophomore goal keeper Anna MacLean, who leads the Big East in saves per game. If anyone is going to change the culture in the upcoming years, it is them. The root of both teams’ problems lies in the last place ranking in the Big East for points and goals. The scoring struggles could primarily stem from postioning schemes or lack of execution. It is quite possible however that the struggles of both teams have come from rosters deep with youth. Nonetheless, considering the lack of success in the past, giving the freshmen experience can play a key role in future development. Letting youngsters get their opportunity to learn and grow through struggles will hopefully lead to better numbers and more wins. Both head coach Gerson Echeverry of the men’s team and head coach Rick Stainton of the women’s team are in the early part of their careers as Seton Hall coaches. As they continue to use their young talent, the hope is that they will find their way in the Big East, and mature in unison with their under classmen. This young class plays a pivotal role in improving the programs, and with experience, they have a chance to switch their recent records around. Keith Egan is a journalism and visual and sound media double-major from Tinton Falls, N.J. He can be reached at keith.egan@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @Keith_egan10.

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