MINNEAPOLIS — This offseason, we are keeping an eye on any Crow playing college ball who made their way onto one of City’s senior-team matchday rosters in 2024. Not every school has begun their official fall season, yet, so keep an eye out for additional City players in subsequent roundups.
Week One Medals
Gold: Carson Pina
Silver: Andrew Soczynski
Bronze: Hakeem Morgan
Thursday, August 22
Having played a key role in helping St. Olaf become the first school from Minnesota to win the Division-III national championship last spring, graduate-transfer Victor Gaulmin made his Division-I debut for Akron. The midfielder logged 22 minutes off the bench in a 1-1 draw at No. 2 Notre Dame. Allez Victor!
Another Ole graduate transfer making his Division-1 debut, Hakeem Morgan started at forward for No. 11 Loyola Marymount, firing off a pair of shots over 68 minutes in a 2-0 loss at No. 21 UCLA.
Per the Loyola Marymount press office, “The Lions had a couple opportunities in the second half through Hakeem Morgan. Morgan took a more marauding role in the second half, floating into the wings from central attack. He forced a tough save in the 63rd minute, and delivered some dangerous crosses from the left side.”
Ryan Keefe, who received the Minneapolis Citizens’ Player of the Match award on June 5 after scoring the game winner in the Crows’ first-ever win over Thunder Bay, also made a substitute appearance, playing 7 minutes in Wisconsin’s 4-0 home win over Marist.
Attacking midfielder Juan Moreno recorded the first shot by a Crow in the fall season. The former Tulsa Athletic man played 71 minutes for Oral Roberts as the Golden Eagles were undone by a red card (not Juan’s), losing 3-2 on the road against No. 22 Kentucky.
Fullback Andrew Soczynski kept the show going right into autumn, starting in a back line that held No. 9 New Hampshire to a scoreless draw, and playing 76 minutes in the process. The reigning Patriot League champions successfully defended nine Huskies’ corners on the evening.
Big Curtis Wagner made his way onto the box score, picking up 9 minutes off the bench for Loyola Maryland in the Greyhounds’ 1-1 draw at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
Friday, August 23
Redshirt freshman and Wayzata native Joe Highfield got the start at forward for No. 22 Portland as the Pilots bettered instate-rival Washington 2-1 in front of 3,306 fans at home.
Defender Carson Pina started Campbell’s home opener in defense and assisted on Filipe Matos’ game-winning goal as the Camels defeated Radford 2-1. Pina also put one of his two shots on frame across 51 minutes.
Sunday, August 25
Shattuck-St. Mary’s alumnus Ryan Keefe tallied more minutes off the bench for the Badgers, taking part in another 4-0 victory in Madison, this time against Drexel.
Facing a ranked opponent on the road for the second time in four days, Juan Moreno contributed 69 minutes and a shot as Oral Roberts played No. 10 SMU to a 1-1 draw in Dallas.
In a combination of a bit of bad luck and signs of better things to come, Hakeem Morgan put all three of his shots on target in his second start for Loyola Marymount in 60 minutes of game action, and saw all three saved. The nationally-ranked Lions were upset 2-1 by California State University, Northridge (CSUN) on their home turf of Sullivan Field.
In Campbell’s tilt against North Carolina Wesleyan, Carson Pina had a quieter night than in the Camels opener, playing 15 minutes off the bench. The hosts saw off the Battling Bishops via a 2-0 scoreline.
