Men's Soccer set to kick-off new season

The Muskingum men's soccer team is set to kick-off the new 2021 season after long wait due to COVID-19 postponement in the fall. The Muskies open the new season at home against John Carroll in Ohio Athletic Conference action on Sunday, March 14 at 2:00 p.m.

The Coach: Muskingum is led by second year head coach Adam Ponder. In 2019, Ponder won a record setting six straight wins to start his first season and led the Muskies to a program best 6-0 start. Prior to arriving at Muskingum, Ponder spent the past five years coaching collegiately at Valparaiso University, the University of Mount Union, and Wright State University. He is also the former Director of Coaching for the Ohio Fusion Soccer Club. 

The Captains: The Muskies will be led by senior midfielder Michael Horgan, senior defender Logan Gray, and senior goalkeeper Damon Spaeth. Horgan, a three-time captain, started all 18 games in 2019 for Muskingum, earned Academic All-OAC Honor Roll honors, and is a former Honorable Mention All-OAC honoree. In 2019, Gray played in 17 games with 10 ten starts and secured one goal and one assist during the season. He has also earned two Academic All-OAC Honor Roll accolades. Spaeth played in 15 games with 15 starts in the 2019 campaign and played in a career-high 1370:40 minutes in frame for the Muskies. He secured a career-best 73 saves and tallied a career-high five wins and two shutouts.

The Players: Players to watch out for and make an impact this upcoming season are sophomore forward Edwin Palou, sophomore defender Thomas Rooney, junior forward Bailey Adams, and junior Blake Weatherholt.

In 2019, Palou played in 17 games with seven starts and secured two goals and one assist in his freshman season, while Rooney played in 14 games with ten starts and registered one goal in his first season.

Adams played in all 19 games in 2019 for Muskingum with 11 starts and registered a career-high four goals and four assists, while finishing with a career-best 14 points. Weatherholt finished the 2019 season playing in 13 games with 12 starts.

The Schedule: The schedule features a nine-game schedule for the 2021 spring season. Muskingum will play all OAC schools this spring on mainly Thursday and Sunday. Game times will be 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays. The Muskies begin the new season at home on Sunday, March 14, vs. John Carroll.

Spectator Policy: Beginning on March 8, the following policies and protocols will be in place at Muskingum. 

• The home team shall receive two admissions per dressed student-athlete and coach. The visiting team shall also receive two admissions per student-athlete and coach, per established "Travel Squad Limits. 
• These admissions may not exceed 30 percent of spectator area capacity.
• There will be no public sales of tickets, and no passes will be issued for entry.
• Attendees at events will be required to wear masks and abide by social distancing guidelines.

Broadcasts: All home games will be played at the North Athletic Turf Field and will feature an HD video stream accessible through the OAC TV app and on fightingmuskies.com.