Mingoes get back on the soccer field

Back on the soccer pitch for the first time in almost two years, the University of The Bahamas (UB) Mingoes men’s soccer team showed some rust as they fell to the Johnson University Florida in two games over in Kissimmee, Florida.

The Mingoes lost the first game, 3-0, on Friday, then dropped the second game, 2-0, on Saturday, losing twice to open their 2021-2022 soccer season.

Johnson University Florida has already played nine games for the season while the Mingoes is making its first appearance in a game in nearly two years because of the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 forced a complete shutdown of sports worldwide as leagues were forced to cease their seasons, and sports events and tournaments were cancelled.

The Mingoes was no different as their sporting programs were shut down for the remainder of 2020 and leading into the 2021 season.

This past weekend, in the face of a year and a half of inactivity, as it relates to competition, the Mingoes faltered.

The Johnson University Florida Suns proved to be too much to handle for the young Mingoes squad. The Mingoes put up a fight but traveling with a team consisting of mostly freshmen and sophomores who were engaged in their first intercollegiate play, they succumbed to the pressure.

A total of 12 players suited up for the Mingoes this past season, and they hung in there against a more experienced squad. UB assistant coach Harvey Mullings said he was proud of the effort and indicated that he’s looking for the team to clean up on some technical and strategic errors they made in the two games.

Mullings said Saturday’s game was a much better match for the Mingoes as he saw improvement from Friday’s match. He said the team will now get back to working on some weaknesses and get ready for its second international trip which is set for October 27-30. Mullings admits that scoring goals and putting the ball in the back of the net, appears to be their biggest challenge at this time.

Prior to this weekend, the Mingoes hadn’t played competitively since losing to United Football Club (FC), 2-0, in March of 2020 in Bahamas Football Association (BFA) action at the Roscow A.L. Davies Soccer Field. BFA league action remains on hold, as is the case with all league sporting events in the country.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/mingoes-get-back-on-the-soccer-field/