146th Article at the Independent

Mustangs fan the Flames in exhibition win

CHRIS DRUMMOND

MARSHALL — A new era is underway on the turf at the Schwan Regional Event Center.

Though the game against College of Saint Mary (Neb.) was an exhibition contest and will not factor into the Mustangs’ 2022 record, Sunday’s match was the first game played on the new Mattke Field turf and it was the home debut for new Southwest Minnesota State University soccer coach Clay Glasgow.

There was plenty of offense from both sides as SMSU came away with the 5-3 win over the Flames.

“First off, it is always great to get the first win on the new beautiful surface,” Glasgow said. “For me, I look at the score line and they scored three goals, we have to watch tape to see where we had breakdowns. I am still please with the performance. We can be dangerous on the attack offensively but defensively we still have some things to sort out.”

Glasgow added that he was happy to see the physical aspect from his players in the game and advocated to his bench players not to drop the level of play when they go in.

It was a fast start for both offenses, as each team had scored a goal within the first two minutes of the game.

The Mustangs and Flames would go back and forth in the first half, with forwards Selina Prolic and Alex Lotts pacing the scoring for the Mustangs as the match was tied at the end of the first half.

The game was aggressively played with bodies flying all over the field and hard-nose action throughout the match, giving a feel for what the regular season will be like.

The consistent pressure of the Mustangs began to wear down the Flames in the second half. SMSU outscored the Flames 3-1 in the frame, with Prolic netting a hat trick in the game and Lotts earning two goals in the contest.

The Mustangs open up the regular season Friday at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.