The Waynesburg University men’s soccer team had its last set of non-conference games this past week, securing two wins over Carlow University and Lancaster Bible College in the process. 

“We still have a lot that we need to provide context to on our players to allow them to play the game rather than just joysticking them and doing three things really well over the course of 90 minutes,” said head coach Treg Lunger on how he and his team will approach conference play.

The Jackets played Carlow on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Highmark Stadium and had a dominant 8-0 win over the Celtics. The Jackets outshot them 35 to five with 18 of those shots being on net. Senior Seth Massotti set a school record with three assists in a single game.

Waynesburg would then play Lancaster Bible College on Saturday, Sept. 21, and would have a comeback win with a last second goal.

The first goal was scored by freshman Josh Smith, which was his second goal of the week, while freshman Sarpong Kwabiah would score the second goal with 12 seconds left to get the Jackets the 2-1 win. 

After the goal, Kwabiah was surrounded by his teammates in celebration. “It’s great to have teammates that I know I can lean on, we have great captains and individuals within the team who show support and encouragement, and they push the team especially the nine freshmen added to the team,” said Kwabiah regarding the chemistry the team has displayed.

During this game, senior goalkeeper Michael Francus would gather a total of 15 saves over the 90 minutes. “If he doesn’t come with a few of the big ones that he did I am not sure what it could have looked like, he was very vital and instrumental in terms of the result we got,” Lunger said on Francus’ play.

The Jackets begin their Conference action this Wednesday, Sept. 25, at home against the Westminster Titans. Waynesburg will be coming into this game with a record of 4-2, while the Titans have a 3-2-2 record.

“Conference play is definitely tough and every team comes to win. I prepare mentally by just clearing my mind and focusing on the things to make my game better and how to respond if I do make a mistake or have a bad play,” said junior Taylor McFarland on how the mindset changes before conference play.