The men’s soccer team battled the Wasps of Emory and Henry College to a 1-1 draw under a cold, steady rain at the Armfield Athletic Center on Sept. 29. The tie moves the Quakers to 1-1-1 in conference play, with a 5-3-2 overall record.

“This is a heart check for all of you,” Head Coach Jeffrey Bateson told the team at half time after going down a goal with just 14 seconds left before the break. “You all know you’re skillful enough to play the game, every single one of you, but it’s not just about talent. It doesn’t have to be pretty guys. It’s a heart and gut check now and it’s about how hard you play.”

The tie was the Quakers’ second in three games, with a 0-0 draw at Ferrum College following a tough 3-1 loss at Randolph College. The mid-season hiccup interrupted a five-game win streak for the Quakers, their longest since joining the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1992.

“This is just kind of a stumbling block,” said senior Jordan Alexander, who scored to tie the game with less than three minutes remaining. “We did a lot of good things and we did a lot of bad things in this game. But we believe in our team and next time we’re going to come out and do better and win.”

Looking forward, the Quakers hope to rectify their poor 2009 season ending, in which they lost nine of their last 10 games after going 7-3-1 to start the season.

“We were young and once the conference figured out some of our better players it put a lot of pressure on us,” said assistant coach and former player Zane Campbell. “This year, we’re more mature and have much more depth.”

The depth Campbell speaks of comes in the form of 11 new first-year and transfer players the team acquired in the off-season. A year wiser and with new talent boosting an already strong scoring force, the Quakers are poised to become the dominant program Bateson has worked to build.

“We’ve really hammered it home that it is not just about results,” Bateson said. “The team is really playing to do the right things to strengthen the team and the program.”

Among the new faces are defensive starters Drew Gunter and Jared Dapkevich, both sophomore transfers with Richard Page and Justin Torrence, who have made strong additions to the midfield.

Outscoring their opponents 23-12, the Quakers’ offense has been led by familiar faces.

The sophomore duo of Freddy Gomez and Ronnie Castellanos, dubbed the “Untouchables” by former sports editor for The Guilfordian and Webcast broadcaster Patrick Childs ’10, have wreaked havoc on opponents’ defenses with the help of Alexander, junior Greg Carnovale and first-year Eto’O Kemda-Kemtsop.

“We have a lot of players that are able to maintain a high quality of play, which really allows our starters to go all out and then get fresh legs in there without dropping the level of play,” said junior captain Ethan Byrd.

The 31-player roster prepares to take on Washington and Lee in their next match on Oct. 2.

“We’re taking it one game at a time,” said Byrd, adding, “Coach keeps stressing the one-game win streak to keep us focused.”

The home match, one of eight conference match-ups in the team’s last nine games, is their first of five remaining home appearances.

“They know they have the talent to beat anyone,” Campbell said. “They just have to work and push through these challenges.”