Clean sheets for Mac Soccer

By: Charlie Coe

On Sunday, Sept. 20, the Marauders soccer team defeated the Waterloo Warriors with a score of 3-0. The team is now on the road to record their fifth clean sheet—games where their opponents were unable to score a point—of the season.

In the 40th minute, midfielder Marco Gennaccaro put a goal on the board for the Marauders. The other two came soon after from forward Stefan Scholz.

The most intriguing narrative to have come out of this victory goes far beyond the numbers.

With two goals during the second half of the game, Scholz announced his arrival on the field with a standout debut performance.

Scholz took only five minutes to make his presence known after coming on as a second-half substitute, before completing his brace with an injury-time goal. Despite more than a yearlong journey to make the varsity squad during which time he has been preparing diligently for his big moment, Scholz admits that he wasn’t expecting to have a debut game quite like this one.

“I did really well in practice the week before, which was why I was given the opportunity to play and all the guys were expecting me to score, but I never thought that I would have that kind of a performance for my debut,” he said.

Scholz spent all of last season as a redshirt, unable to play after facing the disappointment of finding out he was not going to make the 27-man roster. He credits his standout performance on Sunday to the hard work and dedication he has put in to grab his coaches’ attention at the start of this season.

“I trained a lot during off-season and in the summer trying to get better but I’d have to say the turning point for me was during our pre-season. When we started to actually practice together, I felt like I was more involved with the squad,” said Scholz.

The sky is the limit for the second-year forward, who has a chance to make a real difference for the highly competitive Marauders team.

This win has placed the team second in the OUA West standings, holding a current record of six wins and two losses.

The team will once again attempt to make the national finals and avenge the 1-0 defeat they suffered against the York Lions in last year’s CIS Championship final.

The Marauders will look to add another game to their winning streak as they host the Laurier Goldenhawks at Ron Joyce Stadium on Sept. 27, part of the McMaster Homecoming weekend.

Photo Credit: Jon White/Photo Editor