Austria was one of Trine’s starters. “It felt really good to start!” he said. “It was my first game playing collegiate soccer so I was kind of nervous and excited at the same time.”
Austria and his team had the home court advantage, but it was still a tough match. Still, Austria said he had confidence in his team. “The game could have gone both ways, but I felt that we were the stronger team defensively.”
He said every time his team lost possession of the ball, they would work immediately to gain it back. Although Austria did not assist on any of Trine’s goals, he believed that his position as outside back gave him a handful of good overlap runs, which could have contributed a point.
Thaiphi Austria poses with the CNMI flag during a send-off ceremony for the local team. Contributed photo
Thaiphi Austria attempts to control possession in midair during a training camp in Japan. Contributed photo
The 19-year-old freshman is pleased with his performance and is ready for the next challenge in the remaining fall preseason matchups. “This is our first win for our preseason!” he said. The actual conference will be held during the spring semester as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect sporting events.
So far, Austria said, the exhibition matches have given him a sense of the level of competition he and his team will face in the near future. “Right now we are playing friendly matches to prepare ourselves. I believe that we can win the conference considering how we are a very different team compared to last year.”
Austria said their next opponent will be Adrian College of Michigan.
