It’s Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament time for fall sports and men’s soccer is hungry for a championship. 

As of Monday, Oct. 22, prior to their final regular season and conference game against Western New England University, the Hawks are 14-3 overall and 4-3 in conference play. They went on a 12-0 run before falling to Endicott College 3-1 on the road earlier this month. They dropped another two games to Salve Regina University and Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2-0 and 1-0, respectively.

“I can’t complain about anything this season… the fact that we have 14 wins that trump those two losses,” senior captain David Majetich said prior to Friday’s game. “I think we can pat ourselves on the back for our work ethic and what we’ve brought to the season and what we’ve brought every day.” 

Their loss to Wentworth last Friday may be the shock of the year. The Leopards scored in the 31st minute and was unanswered, despite the Hawks having possession most of the second half. The Hawks took 27 shots, 10 of which were on goal during the match, compared to the Leopard’s five shots and two on goal.

Majetich said Friday afternoon that they knew Wentworth would be a tough opponent and their 1-5 record at the time was nothing to take lightly.

“First things first, their record does not do justice to display how good or bad they are. During most of their conference losses, they were neck and neck and the call or the ball just didn’t bounce the way they needed it to go,” Majetich said. “We don’t treat them with any less respect. We treat them as any other team…They’re a Division III team just like us and we have to bring our ‘A game’ every game.”

If the Leopards beat the University of New England Tuesday night, they will finish seventh in the standings and earn a spot in the CCC tournament. The Hawks need to defeat WNE Tuesday in order to finish in the top four and host at least one tournament game.

Always in the back of their minds will be their heartbreaking loss to the Golden Bears in last year’s postseason. Majetich thinks they’re ready for them this year and, if they’re victorious Tuesday, then it’ll be a huge confidence booster going into the postseason.

The two undefeated teams in the conference handed the Hawks their first two losses: Endicott and Salve. So, how will the Hawks beat them if they face them in the tournament?

“We beat them by playing our best game. We have to communicate more. We have to look up and down the field. We have to have commitment to keeping the ball, not just looking long, not just playing for territory. We still have to instill our own playstyle in the game. We can’t play to their strengths, we have to use our strengths so that they can play to us,” Majetich said.