Today: Dec 09, 2024

SCSU sports teams fighting for postseason action

Edgar Ayala – Sports Writer

Reaching the postseason is never a given; it is earned. At the end of the regular season, college sport programs have the chance to expand their season by advancing into tournament play in what is a win or go home.

Southern’s coaches weigh in on how important it is for their sports program to reach the postseason and have the right to compete for a championship title.   

Head coach for Southern’s football team, Tom Godek, said he was looking for individuals at the beginning of the season that would consistently perform week after week. He added that the coaching staff has reconstructed the football program this past season in order to fight for postseason action.  

“I think every athlete and coach wants to extend their season as long as possible,” said Coach Godek. “At the start, I don’t know if any of us were trying to set a goal of .500, winning the conference or winning the national championship. When your team is at a certain stage of either rebuilding, reloading or staying par, you got to see what’s available at that time.”

Additionally, Godek said he is going to break down and address the team in the offseason about the mistakes the team made in order to make for a better 2016 season and secure a spot in the NE-10 Tournament.  

“Everybody wants to win, and everybody knows the things that it takes to be a winner,” said Godek. “Whether it’s school, the athletic side or your personal life.  Sometimes you look back and say ‘would of, could of, should of,’ but it takes time to put that all together.”

However, the men’s soccer program ended up falling short of this seasons’ expectations, according to head coach Tom Lang.

Southern’s soccer team was able to reach the NE-10 Tournament, as they’ve had every year since being involved in the tournament.  But ended up crashing out early in the first round, losing to Bentley University 3-2.  

“NE-10 is obviously a goal, and obviously something we feel is important, but our ultimate goal is to reach the NCAA tournament,” Coach Lang said.   

“We had higher expectations for ourselves [this season]. I don’t think we quite achieved the goals that we had set, but we need to make sure we get back to work, and get back to doing the things that made us successful in the past.”

Despite reaching the postseason, Coach Lang said losing to Bentley in the first round was a disappointment, as he was hoping to get revenge on Southern New Hampshire in the next round, to whom the Owls lost 3-0 in the regular season.   

“Sometimes that’s the nature of the game,” Lang said. “Even if you do everything right, you don’t always get the results, and that day we just didn’t get the results.”

On the other hand, women’s soccer encountered a similar situation in the postseason as that of the men’s, when the team lost in the first round to No. 12 Adelphi 1-0.  

Head coach Adam Cohen said even though the team fell short in the tournament, he was just happy the seniors got to enjoy their last appearance in the postseason.  

“Those seniors made a huge contribution for our program, they’ve been great ambassadors for the university and we will never forget what they’ve done for us,” said Coach Cohen.  

On a final note, out of Southern’s five team sports in the fall season, only the men’s and women’s soccer programs were able to extend their regular season and compete in postseason action.

Photo Credit: Kari

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