Union Men’s Soccer Team Puts Up A Strong Defense Against No. 2 Team In The Conference

Huntsville, Ala. – On Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m., the Union University men’s soccer team took on the unbeaten University of Alabama-Huntsville on the road and kept them from scoring until the 73rd minute of the game in a 1-0 loss.

UAH remains unbeaten (6-0-1), while Wednesday’s loss puts the Bulldogs at 2-2 in conference play.

Union had seven shots in the game, with one shot on goal by freshman business administration major Christopher Cerda. UAH had 18 total shots and 11 shots on goal.

Only two other teams have kept UAH to a single goal this season, and much of the credit goes to senior goalkeeper Patrick Schott, an international business major from Germany. Schott’s nine saves, including an impressive penalty kick save in the first half, matches his performance in Union’s last game against Spring Hill.

Solomon Pela, a junior journalism major who plays forward and took one of Union’s seven shots of the game, recognizes Schott’s leadership role on the team beyond his steady performance.

“He’s in his fifth year, our captain of our team,” Pela said. “He does a good job of being very vocal… he just cares a lot and he shows that care in everything he does… he always leads by example.”

Freddie Westfall, a freshman exercise science major from England, has been another defensive force and contributor in Union’s conference games. Westfall was awarded GSC Defender of the Week last week, after anchoring the Union defense that only allowed one goal in a 2-0 week.

“Especially as a freshman, he had a big role to step into because we’re losing a lot of our senior centerbacks,” Pela said. “He’s just been solid, steady, pretty consistent.

Pela recognizes that the team needed to capitalize on goal-scoring opportunities and emphasizes an offensive priority heading into the next game.

“Just put as many goals past them as possible,” Pela said when speaking about the team’s mindset as they get deeper into conference play.

The team will be taking on Mission University, a non-conference opponent, on Wednesday at home at 4 p.m., hoping to boost their overall record to 4-5 on the season.