By Patrick Dooley Staff Writer
Photo by Hao Pham. Penn State Altoona’s Men Soccer Introduction on Saturday, Oct 7th, at Spring Run Stadium.
Owen Myers, Junior, plays center-back on the defensive line for the Penn State Altoona Men’s soccer team. I got the chance to talk to Owen Myers about his journey and about the team.
Owen has been playing soccer since he was three years old. He eventually played for his high school team, which he claims was pretty good, and he also played for a high-level club. When discussing soccer, Owen said, “It’s a part of my life.”
Owen chose Penn State Altoona because people he knew had positive experiences there. The transition from high school to collegiate soccer was smooth.
“My experience playing soccer at Altoona has been unique,” Owen stated. He remembered when he would work hard to impress the coach, just to get a spot on the team for his freshmen year and then again for the new coach his sophomore year.
I asked Owen how he feels about this year, “I’m thankful that we have the same coach as last year.” He believes this year’s team is better than the last, with more experience and leadership. Owen stated, “We have a lot of returning players who are hungry, and some new guys to help glue the team together.”
He also mentioned that the conference looks familiar to the conference last year. Penn State Altoona is currently predicted to rank 5th in the conference. However, Owen believes that at this point, anything can happen. “With the team we have this year, I am feeling optimistic.”
When wrapping up, I asked Owen what he thinks his role is. “I feel like a leader on this team. Being one of the older players on the team with a lot of experience, I try to share it with the team and try to get them going before games. Overall, this team is like a family. I love playing on this team. These guys are my brothers.”
Penn State Altoona Men’s soccer team will play on Saturday, 4:15 p.m. EDT. They will play against conference rivals Penn State Behrend, at Behrend’s home field. Behrend is one of the better teams in the conference. Altoona Men’s soccer team has lost to Behrens for the last 2 years. Behrend also being Altoona’s goalkeeper, Sasha Mohoruka’s former school.
Revenge Tour? You better believe it.