Lemonade out of lemons is what Asbury men’s soccer is hoping to make out of this unusual COVID-19 season. Senior center forward, Isaac Amaya, and senior goalkeeper, Ethan Mayo, are happy just to be back.
“The ultimate goal is to make it to the national tournament and win conference,” said Amaya. “As long as our season is not cancelled.”
“[COVID-19] only increased our motivation and desire to work harder,” said Mayo. “I think we just get that with the unexpected nature of everything that’s happened in the past like six or seven months. This is just a blessing to be back and be one of the few teams and few conferences competing in sports.”
Amaya said, “It made it a little bit harder just because of the fact that we were playing and all that, but we didn’t really have an idea what the system was going to look like within the team. It also helped a lot because we did get a head start on a lot of schools even if it was without coaches, we got our fitness up and just overall endurance.”
The team won a hard-fought 3-1 match over the Marian Knights last Saturday evening. This was accomplished despite missing players and injuries acquired throughout a physical game between the two teams.
“We work basically as hard as we possibly can, harder than we’ve worked in a lot of years before because we just don’t want to squander the blessing and the opportunity that has been provided for us,” Mayo said.
The adjustments to practices and games have been minimal for men’s soccer and have not affected the team’s approach.
“When we get up to the Luce, we have to fill out a Healthy Roster sheet and submit it every day,” said Amaya. “Also, we also have to wear the mask up until we’re actually on the field but besides that it hasn’t really changed.”
The Healthy Roster sheet screens players’ symptoms and temperature every day to track their health. Team gatherings, meals, and bonding have been limited as well as travel for games.
The River States Conference and NAIA tournaments have been moved to the spring.
“It’s going to be a really good season,” said Amaya. “It’s going to be different because of all the restrictions, but we are going to have a really good season regardless. We’re going to make the best out of it.”
