The men’s soccer team defeated Howard Payne 3-0 on Oct. 23, bringing the Comets one step closer to entering the conference tournament.
UTD dominated ball possession during the game, making 31 shots on goal in comparison to the four made by the Yellow Jackets.
As the game went to the half, both teams remained scoreless. The Comets did not have to wait much longer; 25 seconds into the second half, senior forward Omar Jaroun scored the first goal of the match.
“We like to pass the ball. If we have it, they can’t score with it, so you know we definitely do that,” said senior defender Brian Childs.
In the 64th minute, Childs translated a corner-kick assist from freshman forward Danny Myer into a goal, scoring UTD’s second point of the match. This goal was Childs’ first goal for UTD.
Head coach Jason Hirsch praised Child for his performance in the game and his growth as a player.
“Some players do grow a lot, some don’t. (Childs is) one that has grown a lot,” Hirsch said. “He is, from when we got him as a freshman to what he is now as a senior, two totally different players. I mean he’s so much better now in every single way. He played like an animal out there, he did really well for us and all the guys all love him, so they were happy for him.”
After the game, Childs expressed his happiness at having reaching the accomplishment with his teammates.
“It’s an honor to play and coming out with the teammates,” he said. “Everyone dreams of scoring a goal in a college game, so I’m just glad to get out there and do my best.”
UTD’s third goal came in the 76th minute by junior forward Chase Withrow on an assist from Jaroun. The remaining 14 minutes of the game were spent keeping the ball and preventing the Yellow Jackets from making any goals.
Hirsch was satisfied by the plays made in the game and the way the Comets handled the Yellow Jackets.
“We have a specific style that we want to play, and we were able to do that for long stretches tonight,” he said. “We were able to keep the ball a lot, pass it around and try to switch the field. We did a good job of that, and that’s what we’re trying to do, nothing special against this team.”
Hirsch said he is happy about the current trend but does not want to make any predictions, preferring to take it one game at a time with the ultimate goal to win the conference tournament.
Child’s is confident in the team’s ability to make this goal a reality.
“I think (our chance of getting first) is pretty good,” he said. “You know I think we got a good thing going here; I think we’re peaking at the right time. I’m excited for where this team is going.”