Coming off of a tough loss against Muskegon Community College, on Oct. 8 the Grand Rapids Community College men’s soccer team was back in action against St. Clair Community College, who they faced earlier in the season, losing 2-1. The results were different this time around, with the Raiders taking home the victory with the same score of 2-1, to improve their record to 6-4-2.
It was a nightmarish start to the game for the Raiders, conceding a goal just 15 seconds into the match against St. Clair. But head coach Damiekco Smith was not worried about the start.
“I wasn’t really that upset when they scored that early,” stated Smith. “That happened before and my teams play a lot better with our backs against the wall.”
In the 21st minute, the Raiders found themselves on the board, via a goal by freshman midfielder Andy Mendez-Reyes, his first of the season to even the game at one a piece.
Both teams settled in the rest of the half with neither team scoring again by halftime. St. Clair was able to out-shoot GRCC 11-8 in the first half, signifying the offensive output for both teams was not too dissimilar.
In the 65th minute of the match, sophomore forward Elijah Maas added to his team-leading goal tally, scoring his fifth goal of the season to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead.
The goal by Maas was all the Raiders needed to hang on to the lead, beating St. Clair 2-1. Overall, St. Clair was able to take 21 shots while GRCC only took 17. The key factor was The Raiders being able to register eight shots on target, while St. Clair only registered seven.
Entering the match, St. Clair was undefeated in conference play with a 4-0 record, along with an overall record 7-1-1. Smith shared his thoughts on the big win and how the team played.
“We came out flat, the other team scored in 15 seconds before our bench was even able to take a seat,” stated Smith. “They were a lot better than I remember, but my team was able to pull it together and get a big win for the program.”
The Raiders have now avoided a loss in eight of the team’s last nine matches, a big momentum push heading into the final stretch of games. Smith was asked if the team did differently this time around against St. Clair in comparison to the beginning of the season when the team was in a slump.
“My team is playing extremely well right now, there is a sense of urgency that we didn’t have during the beginning of the season,” Smith stated. “Also, I’m getting to know my players a lot better, we are gaining confidence in each other.”
The Raiders have four games remaining in the season before a chance of making the postseason. The next home game will be against Cornerstone University JV on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. at the Midwest United Complex in Kentwood.
