It was an interesting season for the Men’s Soccer team, and in my first semester as a sports reporter I had the privilege of covering most of their season.

The Eagles had some triumphant wins this semester—particularly the 2-1 win against Georgia State in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament after they had been defeated 0-1 by the Panthers a few weeks before. Another exciting win for the Eagles was when they defeated long-time rivals Appalachian State 1-0 on the Mountaineers home field in Boone, North Carolina.

I was disappointed in the Eagles’ loss 1-0 loss against the Mercer Bears, even though Georgia Southern put up a great defense. Last year, I was present when the same two teams met in Macon, and I watched the Eagles lose then, too.

The Eagles were 8-9 overall in their season, and they put up a good fight against Hartwick College in the final game of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but it simply wasn’t possible for the Eagles to win this time.

Throughout this season, I watched several players stand out on the field; coming to Georgia Southern all the way from Iceland was freshman midfielder Thor Sveinbjornsson who proved himself a valuable asset to the team and was also named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Forward Emmanuel Raji, midfielder David Vargas Masis and forward Eric Dinka were all players who helped the Eagles reach their eight wins during the season. Goalkeeper Jack Falle also prevented dozens of shots on goal this season and is ranked sixth nationally with 5.87 saves per game.

So even though the Eagles fell to Hartwick in the final match of the Sun Belt Tournament, I feel that they had an impressive season with many outstanding players. I never got a chance to speak to Coach Kennedy or the players after the loss to Hartwick, but I do have something I would like to say: Congratulations on a great season, and I look forward to seeing what is next for the Eagles.