Ashland University's men's soccer team will begin the quest for its first Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament title on Thursday (Nov. 3) at 2 p.m. against Lake Erie at Tiffin.
One of the more underrated reasons for the Eagles being in the tournament, finishing second in the league's regular-season standings and going 10-6-1 in the regular season is finding key players among those who have played in GM2, the conference's reserve league.
"We know a lot of teams carry JV teams, but they have been sort of loosely organized," said Ashland head coach
Nick Roberts. "The whole idea was to create a league that is competitive, so those games were almost like college games. That gives them a different dimension."
Each of GM2's five teams – Ashland, Lake Erie, Malone, Tiffin and Walsh – play eight regular-season games. The Eagle GM2 squad went 5-1-2 in the regular season and will play for a league title on Tuesday (Nov. 1) at Tiffin.
It didn't take long for some of the Eagle reserves to prove they belonged in the big show.
Freshman left back
Abdul Kawa moved up starting with the Sept. 15 game at Tiffin, and has started and played in 11 of 12 games since. Kawa not only has become one of the better players on the team, according to Roberts, his being in the lineup has moved fifth-year
Oliver Whaley to the left wing position, and Whaley has all of his six points (one goal, four assists) since the move.
"The rule is you are allowed to play five players who play varsity. The level is pretty good," Roberts noted. "In that game (against Tiffin), which was a pretty competitive game, he's having a great game. At that point, we said, 'Hey, we have to try this kid.' One of the things about Abdul is he's a natural left-sided player. Oliver is a natural left-sided player. What that does to the balance of the team, it gives you that natural left-sided balance.
"That was the whole idea. It wasn't just to create a JV team as such to develop players. I said, 'Why don't we create something that could be very competitive?' So, for me, moving forward, other schools are calling us, 'How can we get in next year?'"
Another freshman,
Collin Kittrell, moved up at the same time Kawa did, and in 13 games (four starts), has posted a goal. Yet another rookie, midfielder
Judah Nelson, has played six varsity games after moving up from the GM2 ranks.
Freshman defender
Anthony Dolan is the latest reserve player to move up and dress, and he played 17 minutes against Malone on Oct. 13.
"He's a kid we think is very close," said Roberts.
Roberts said, in addition to Kawa, Kittrell, Nelson and Dolan, there are four or five reserve players who will step up to varsity in 2023.
So would the Eagle men be in the position they are this season without the players who moved up from GM2?
"It just gives you a bit more of a dimension. It gives us depth," Roberts said. "Those guys are going in and playing, and the standard's not dropping off. Maybe not. Maybe not."
GREAT MIDWEST TOURNAMENT TICKET NOTE: For this week's games at Tiffin, no tickets will be sold at the game. Fans are to buy online prior to the game
HERE, or fans can scan on their phone to get a ticket.
