Improvement is the goal of the game for NGU
Brayden Allen, Sports Editor
As the temperatures drop on campus it can be noted that each of North Greenville’s sports teams are seeing improvement, drawing newfound interest from students and fans. The NGU men’s soccer team is one of those, reaching new heights as the season kicks into high gear.
For head coach Andy Aulick, improvement has been a key since his arrival in 2020. Aulick inherited a team that three years ago finished second from last in conference standings.
“The team had talent but they were lacking in good results on and off the field,” Aulick said. “Our staff and players met and one of the main words that kept reverberating was success and the desire to achieve better…so that term was built into our team principles.”
The 2021 season was an improvement, but ended on a sour note for a talented Crusader team, finishing 8-7-3 on the season and falling to Mount Olive in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. The team looks to use it as motivation to make this year into something different.
“The season ended in a tough way, as we felt we could have done better with the team we had,” junior Renan Macuglia said. “We don’t want to have the same feeling we did last year.”
The team is already off to a hot start in 2022, currently sitting at 4-3-2 on the season. After splitting a series of games against out-of-conference opponents, Georgia Southwestern State, Coker, Mars Hill and Furman, the Crusaders hit the ground running going into a tough conference schedule.
“Conference Carolinas had improved in terms of competitiveness,” Macuglia said. “High level competition is always good, it makes the players and coaches push harder to prepare themselves for the matches.”
After ending the opening conference matchup against Belmont Abbey in a 1-1 draw, the Crusaders won two straight matches including a dominant 5-1 performance against Southern Wesleyan. Their performance up to that point earned them a program first national ranking, rated No. 18 in the nation.
The challenge has only begun for NGU as they continue to face their toughest challenges of the season.
Their latest home matchup featured a battle against Lees-McCrae for the top spot in the conference but ultimately ended in a 1-1 tie.
It only got harder for the Crusaders as the team traveled to Francis Marion, suffering their first crushing defeat with a 3-1 loss on Sept. 24.
Going forward the team looks to continue to get better and add to what has already been done. And according to Macgulia, there is always room for improvement.
“Our team has to focus on playing our style during the 90 minutes,” Macgulia said. “We’ve been struggling to set our style of play from the start, and this is something that we have to improve to continue to succeed.”
Currently tied for third in the conference, NGU is back in action this week starting out on the road for a key matchup with conference leader Converse. The Crusaders then return home to Pepsi Stadium this weekend for a rematch with Mount Olive.
