As the hazy days of summer roll into the short and brisk ones of fall, the men’s soccer team hopes to make a change in their own season by turning their game around.

Currently, the team has a losing record at 2-7 overall and 1-4 in conference play. If the team doesn’t make adjustments in the next few weeks, chances of a bid for the play-offs are less promising.

On Monday, September 13, the Cougars faced Smith High School. Despite a hard fought effort on the Cougars’ part, Smith defeated the Cougars 2-4. Matt Jordan contributed Rockingham’s only goals.

The Cougars faced yet another struggle in their match against Southwest Guilford. In this home match, the Cowboys were able to easily dominate the Cougars and prevent them from getting the ball through the net. RCHS lost the match 0-8.

The loss to Southwest helped rally the team together in their attempts to fend off the Rams of Northeast Guilford. They held Northeast to a scoreless tie until a goal was scored during the 98:40 mark. Though the Cougars lost the match 1-0, they came together as a whole and played well.

“We came together as a team to play hard against Northeast,” said Ben Anderson, a senior on the team. “We shouldn’t hang our heads about this loss. It’s an accomplishment that we held a team like Northeast to only one goal.”

The Cougars’ efforts finally saw success when they faced Parkland on September 22. The boys played strong and forced Parkland to make careless mistakes-- the most careless being a goal scored on Rockingham’s goal. The final score was 1-0.

“The Parkland game demonstrated our great defense,” said Carlton Shreve, a senior. “Our offense needs more work, though.”

With this recent win, and the season‘s end drawing near, the Cougars are still hoping to earn a spot in post- season play.