By Stan Caldwell
 
HATTIESBURG – There is plenty of excitement surrounding the William Carey University men's soccer team as the 2024 season picks up steam.
 
The Crusaders put their first shot of the game into the net for a goal in the second minute of play, and the defense did the rest, shutting down LSU-Alexandria 2-0 Wednesday night at Danny Owens Field.
 
After a 4-4 tie in the season opener, WCU has won two straight, allowing just three shots in those victories.
 
"We had a lot of guys out, but it was good today," said Carey head coach Barry Farrell. "Defensively, we were solid, only giving up two shots. Our focus this week was strictly on the defensive side, and obviously getting the goal early was huge for us."
 
It was a pair of freshman newcomers who got Carey on the scoreboard less than two minutes into the game.
 
A strong offensive push in the opening minute of play allowed freshman Rico Duggan to draw a foul dead center in front of the net, just 20 yards out. Freshman midfielder Joshua Salas took the free kick and buried it in the upper left corner at 1:26 officially.
 
"It was definitely a good start for us," said senior forward Caoimhin McConnell. "We got in their heart, and got the goal.
 
"Yeah, it's good to go 1-nil up early, but sometimes you get a bit too confident. But I thought we did really well the first 30 minutes, then we started to get a little too confident. But I thought we hung in there really well with the lead."
 
Farrell said he worried that the Crusaders might try to cruise with the early lead, and Carey did stagnate a bit on offense the rest of the first half, only getting three shots the rest of the period.
 
"Honestly, that's what happened," Farrell said. "You score a goal early, the tendency is to take the foot off the gas, to think it's going to be easy, and you get sloppy sometimes.
 
"At halftime, I told them about it, that we have to raise our level of play, and I thought the second half was excellent."
 
The way his team's defense was playing, however, had to ease Farrell's mind. The Generals only got one shot in each half, none on goal, thanks to suffocating play on the back line.
 
"They didn't have a lot of good chances as a team," said senior defenseman Giovanni Soares. "On the back line, we train a lot to keep the ball at our feet, playing low balls and diagonal balls. We were very composed back there."
 
The x-factor for Carey was the play of Salas, who comes to the Crusaders from Ecuador. Sometimes helping in the back, other times pressing the attack.
 
"He's a special player, and he's still not quite 100 percent with his fitness," said Farrell. "So it's important that he gets these games in and keep him fit. But no doubt, he's special and you're only going to see him get better."
 
With several starters out for various reasons, Farrell got a chance to see what his depth looks like, and that also went well.
 
"We're still growing as a team," said Farrell. "But it's a 30-man roster, and all 30 can play. We have a lot of talent that we haven't put on the field yet."
 
The Crusaders took their coach's halftime pep talk to heart, and were much crisper in the second half, getting seven shots in all in the final 45 minutes of play.
 
"I think the big thing with this team is we've got so many weapons," said McConnell. "We gave up four goals in the first game, so we needed to just work our defense, and we've got so many weapons going forward that it could be any of us on any given night."
 
McConnell and Soares are in their fourth year in the program, and they have been named co-captains for the season. McConnell said his job as a captain is to mold the mix of veterans and newcomers into a cohesive until.
 
"It's always tough coming in when you're new," said McConnell. "We've got a good group of new boys, and we've really worked on bonding. We're all at breakfast together and getting together as a team a lot.
 
"It's a lot easier to play when you're playing with boys who are your friends, people you want to play hard for, and become a family, and that helps on the field.
 
And it was McConnell who showed the way with an insurance goal in the 76 minute of play, scoring an unassisted goal after LSUA goalkeeper Valeriu Tarlev was lured out of position, giving McConnell an open net to push a shot in the goal, officially at 75:08.
 
Although the Crusaders are regulars in the NAIA National Tournament, they have come up short in recent postseasons. But winning the Southern States Athletic Conference and making noise in the national tournament are achievable goals, according to Soares.
 
"it's gone great so far," said Soares. "I think we're going to win the conference, go to nationals, and I swear, we're going to play for a national championship."
 
Farrell isn't quite ready to go that far, but he thinks he's got a team that can get a lot accomplished this season, and competing for a national championship is not a far-fetched goal.
 
"We're not there yet," said Farrell. "I look at our teams in the past, where we were probably stronger at the start of the season. But I think as the weeks go on, this team will get stronger and stronger."
 
The Crusaders will have 10 days to prepare for their next contest, August 31 at home against Louisiana Christian, then they don't play again until September 12 against Florida National.