HELENA — It’s a season of firsts for Carroll College’s men’s soccer team.
By securing their first-ever regular-season conference title earlier this season, the Fighting Saints also guaranteed themselves a trip to the NAIA national playoffs for the first time in program history.
Carroll opens the tournament Thursday against Hope International (Calif.) in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
“When I first had my interview here now two years ago in February – so almost two years ago now. I remember (athletic direector) Charlie (Gross) put me in the gym itself just to show me that there was no banner there,” said second-year Carroll head coach Austin Shick.
“And I was like, ‘Where is it?’ Like, I was looking around. And that was when I realized that this school had achieved everything except for a men’s soccer banner.”
Many Carroll players described their team’s morale favorably ahead of their first national playoffs game.
“We know we can achieve anything,” said sophomore midfielder Sam Loughton. “Going into this trip, we might be a little bit of an underdog, but we had that all last year.
"At the beginning of this year as well — we were fourth in the preseason poll. And I think we thrive off that mentality. We all know what we can do, and I think we’ve got to just go out there and do it.”
This season’s rewriting of the history books comes in just Shick’s second as head coach, meaning many of Carroll’s senior players have witnessed the program’s transformation firsthand.
“With this being my fifth year, I’ve been a part of five Carroll teams,” said fifth-year senior midfielder Caleb Hoxie. “It’s been a journey. There’s been a lot of ups and downs — a lot of trials, a lot of tribulations. But it’s been amazing these past two years — especially this year now winning your conference championship.
"To see how far this team has grown — I mean, three or two years ago, we were not even in the playoffs. And now we have won fourteen games, conference champions, on the way to nationals.”
Other players echoed Hoxie’s positive feelings surrounding the team’s culture.
“I think we are truly a family,” said senior midfielder Michal Mojzis. “Like, I’ve never been on a group like this where every player on the team I genuinely like. And it just means a lot for us. It means a lot for the school as well. Like, when I walk around campus, people are cheering us on and wishing us good luck today. So, it means truly a lot.”
