This season’s futility is not what head coach Jim DeRose and the men’s soccer team are used to. Sure, Bradley fans have noticed other sports trudge through conference play, but rarely the soccer team.
This year is different. Bradley has played 17 games but have only scored 12 total goals. The Braves haven’t won a match since Sept. 20 and haven’t even earned a draw since Oct. 1. It’s been a rough year for Bradley soccer, to say the least, and DeRose knows it.
“I think this season has just been about us not being good enough sometimes, youth and bad breaks,” DeRose said. “[It’s] been a conglomeration of things that haven’t been good … I won’t run and hide from the record, it is what it is. It’s going to be one of the worst win-loss seasons in Bradley history and certainly of [my] career as a player and coach, and I take 100 percent ownership for that.”
Bradley’s winless streak sat at seven entering the weekend, but it has now extended to nine. The most recent loss came in heartbreaking fashion to Drake on Wednesday. Drake opened up the scoring in the 72nd minute on an opportune bounce in the box, but Bradley was able to tie it up as time expired.
Junior Jacob Taylor threw the ball into the box, where it bounced in front of senior Alex Garcia. The senior forward miraculously drilled the ball into the twine to tie the game.
“It was very exciting, and it was great resolve from our guys to fight to the very finish,” DeRose said. “They could have not went over there and taken that throw in. The clock could have literally just run out, and I probably wouldn’t have thought much of it. They are going to give you an effort every time out.”
For the first time in a while, it seemed like the team had hope – a real chance to win a match.
Eight minutes later, that hope vanished into the thin, cold October air. Drake scored in sudden death to deal the Braves their sixth conference loss and 12th overall.
“It was a tough loss because all of the sudden, momentum swings, we get the goal and we’re going to overtime,” Taylor said. “We said ‘Alright, let’s go we can do this. We’ve been on top of them all game.’ All of overtime, we were in their end getting chances. They kind of countered us on a fast break … they did a good job of taking advantage of their opportunities.”
The Braves fifth conference loss came at the hands of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville last Saturday. SIU-E jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first six minutes and tacked on another right before halftime. The early 3-0 deficit sealed Bradley’s fate in the eventual 3-1 loss.
“Goals are everything, but when you look deep into it, it’s about when goals are scored,” DeRose said. “We always try to say, ‘First five of the half, last five of the half.’ You give up a couple goals in the first five minutes of the game, and it’s tough to come back from that.”
DeRose found some silver linings in this otherwise forgettable season. He lauded the team’s effort and determination through adversity.
“In my eyes, I watch a team that thinks they’re 12-2, and I love it,” DeRose said. “We’ll play a reserve match, and it has bite and edge and energy. When I see that in them, it motivates me to continue to do everything I possibly can.”
Taylor said it’s been frustrating knowing how talented they are but not having any results to show from their effort.
“Most of the time, we have winning seasons,” Taylor said. “It’s just difficult because we know we’re better than our record shows, but we haven’t been able to put it all together … everyone still believes it’ll come together.”
Faith and effort are generally positive things to have, but DeRose said that can only take you so far.
“You can only talk so much about effort,” DeRose said. “It’s a wins and losses-dominated sport. At 2-12-3, the only thing positive that you are going to take out of this isn’t the empirical but how hard they trained every day.”
