A Doubleheader Against St. Mary and St. Olaf

Last weekend, three soccer club teams faced off against each other in a doubleheader. Out of the three games played, two were between Carleton Men’s Club Soccer (CMCS) and the other teams from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and St. Olaf College. All games took an hour although there was a half-time every 30 minutes for people to recuperate. I got a chance to play in both games as a left winger for CMCS. They were fun, although there were some high-stakes moments.

Carleton Men’s Club Soccer VS St. Mary’s University of Minnesota

It was the first game of the competition. CMCS players came into the game with a lot of confidence that they were going to win. This is because they have won St. Mary’s multiple times in the past.

History repeated itself this time around, with CMCS netting a whopping five goals. I was not in the starting line-up but was subbed in twice in the first and second half of the game as a left winger to support the forward and right-wing players. The match ended with CMCS winning 5 – 0 against St. Mary’s. The success of this game made us feel relaxed and that almost got us into trouble as we play the next game.

Carleton Men’s Club Soccer VS St. Olaf College

This was a rather challenging game for the team because we became comfortable winning. I remember our captain telling us to take this game seriously because CMCS has not won against St. Olaf for the past four years. It was our time to change this narrative, although our actions in the field did not reflect that. A few minutes into the first half of the game, we got a goal from St. Olaf. Nevertheless, we retaliated by netting two goals before the first half ended. Despite the success in the first half, one thing was obvious: there was little communication between the players.

We went into the second half with that information in mind, also knowing that St. Olaf won’t let us off the hook so easily. They didn’t. They scored another goal, equalizing the score to 2 – 2. Tension was high because there was little time till the end of the game. Due to the tension, there was a foul play by St. Olaf that landed a penalty kick for CMCS. That chance gave us the third goal. After that goal, St. Olaf was not able to get any opportunity to score and we ended up winning 3 – 2.

Yesterday was truly a good day for the CMCS and also for me. Despite the constant adrenaline rush through both games, the feeling that I contributed to the success of the team was comforting. I look forward to the CMCS game next week against Minnesota State University.

Bennet is from the town of Bamenda, Cameroon. He is currently undecided but looking forward to a double major in Computer Science and CAMS (Cinema and Media Studies). Aside from blogging, Bennet also works for the Office of International Student Life as a Peer Mentor. On campus, he is part of the African and Caribbean Association (ACA), Men’s Club Soccer, and serves as the Public Relations Officer for Men of Color (MOC). He likes spending his free time reading nonfiction books, working out, watching movies, and hanging out with friends.