Sport: Soccer

Hometown: Ivyland, PA

Major: Undeclared

Why Steven? On Saturday Steven scored a huge goal against Army and led the Raiders to a 2-0 victory. He leads the team in points with ten so far this season.

With two Patriot League games behind you, what do you think are the keys for the soccer team in repeating as Patriot League champions?

At this point in the year, I believe the biggest thing for us in repeating as Patriot League Champions is putting all the little things together. It always takes some luck to win a championship, but I believe we have the talent to do this. If we work hard, play as a team, play with urgency and intensity, and get on a roll at the end of the year, I believe we will be a hard team to beat in the Patriot League.

On Saturday you scored a crucial goal in the first half against Army. How were you able to connect for that goal?

That goal against Army was a real team effort. We had great team build-up in creating the goal. Jeff Leach played a great ball across the field to Alex Weekes, and he headed it over to me in front of the goal. I headed the ball into the net.

Right now, you lead the team in goals and points. How have you been able to be such a big contributor as a sophomore? How have you improved since last year?

The success of our team has been a big reason for my individual success. This year we are attacking more, getting better scoring chances and scoring more goals than we did last year. As a forward, I have been able to benefit greatly from our team play. Also, I learned a lot from last year, and I tried carrying that with me into this season. Playing alongside last year’s senior captain, Eric Anton, I was able to learn a lot from one of the best forwards Colgate has ever had. I think the fact that I have had a year of experience playing against Division I soccer players has helped me as much as anything. I came into this season understanding college soccer much better and knowing what to expect. I have tried to use last year to help me be more successful this year.

Which game in the upcoming schedule are you most looking forward to?

I am most looking forward to our next game against Lafayette. One of our team philosophies has been playing the season one game at a time, and we try not to look too far into the future. The game against Lafayette is our biggest game of the season up to this point. Not only is Lafayette a great team and one of our biggest rivals, but also we need to get a very big Patriot League win and start building momentum heading into the last third of the season. We always have very hard-fought games against Lafayette, and this Saturday should be no different.