On the week of Sept. 18, goalie and redshirt sophomore #1 Eryk Dymora was named CAA Defensive Player of the week. This was Dymora’s third time being honored by the CAA after being named the CAA Rookie of the Week twice last year. As Dymora entered the week he had 0.67 goals against average and .818 save percentage which lead to him being ranked top 20 in the nation for goals against average.
Dymora is a strong player and is pivotal to the team. The goalie expressed the multiple roles he plays on the team, one of them being a vocal leader. Dymora explains, “I feel like my biggest role on the team is being a vocal leader and kind of keeping everyone interactive with the game and keeping the energy high… You know, just keeping everybody motivated and making sure everyone’s in the right spot… I feel like that plays a big role in being successful and that you definitely need someone on the team to step up and play that role. And I feel like with my position I see everything in front of me and that’s part of my job is to be a vocal leader.”
Fans can see this as Dymora recorded his second straight shutout and fourth of the season during the game on Sept. 22 against Delaware.
His routine is similar to his fellow teammates and like many other student athletes; balancing all social, academic, and athletic life is a challenge. He contributes overcoming these challenges, staying successful in his career, and even expressing his emotions after a game to the team and maturity. Dymora states that he takes it “…one game at a time… Last year it was me working on my maturity and working hard, now I take it one game at a time.” Dymora furthers this statement by saying that he is always maturing as a player and is always gaining experience.
He is projected to do great this season, and from these past games, he has taken the initiative to help the Monmouth Men’s Soccer team win.
At yet another home game, the men’s soccer team has taken charge on the field. On Tuesday, Sept. 19, the Monmouth Hawks faced Saint Joseph’s in an ultimately interesting game. In the first half it was a battle between the two teams as they both had multiple chances to score but neither team were able to get one passed the other.
They entered the second half tied 0-0. It was not for long, as in the 46th minute Saint Joseph’s was called for a handball in the box. This allowed for #7 Ben Zakowski to receive a penalty kick in which he rocketed the ball into the top of the net. This gave Monmouth a 1-0 advantage that they took all the way home, resulting in yet another win for the season. It was in this game where Dymora made two saves for Monmouth.
It was not long until the men’s soccer team was back on the field, this time an away game. On Friday, Sept. 22, the Hawks went up against the Delaware Blue Hens on Delaware soil. In the first half, Delaware held a 3-2 advantage in shots but neither team ended up on the scoreboard. It wasn’t until the second half where Monmouth turned up the heat when Zakowski scored his seventh goal of the year off an assist from defense #3 Olle Brorsson at just about the end of the 56th minute.
In another four minutes, freshman #28 Arturo McConnochie rocketed one into the net. The score came in at 2-0 in the 63rd minute. Player #11 Bastian Hatcher shot and scored one in the 64th minute making it a score of 3-0. This left foot shot was the first goal for Hatcher this season. In the 75th minute, defense #5 Gabe Dahlin scored off midfield #8 Erik Reis to put the final score at 4-0. This goal was Dahlin’s first goal as a Monmouth Hawk. This incredible game leads Monmouth University to a two-week win streak with the men’s soccer team being 4-1-3 (win-lose-tie).
