The NYU men’s soccer team added to their incredible season with a 2-0 win over the Hunter College Hawks on Sept. 17. The team, showing no signs of slowing their tenacious win streak, has racked up an incredible 6-0 record over the first three and half weeks of the season.

Going into a game against a team whose record is 0-6, it is easy to be overconfident, especially with a perfect record. But, as many of the players on the team might agree, soccer is as much a mental sport as it is a physical one. The team has been able to stay focused and strong thus far, which has manifested itself in the standings.

The game started out slowly. The first goal came in the last minute of regulation time in the first half. In the 44th minute, a Hunter player committed a foul outside the box, leaving the end of the half up to an important set piece. Senior midfielder Mickey Ingerman, one of the team’s captains, was given the task of taking the free kick 25 yards out and converted to put the Violets up 1-0 with 45 minutes played.

With 10 minutes to go and a victory nearly sealed, another set piece gave the Violets the goal to clinch the game as freshman defender Zane Van De Put added an insurance goal to the Violets’ tally. It was the first goal of his collegiate career. Wednesday was an all-around victory for the Violets, and it is in no small part due to incredible defensive work, as the Hawks were only able to get away with a single shot on goal. Overall, the Violets outshot the Hawks by a staggering 15-2 statline.

“Our defense stayed compact and didn’t let anything pass them,” freshman defender Zach Herman said. “We did a nice job of capitalizing on set pieces, scoring both of our goals off of them.”

Continued balance will be key for the Violets going forward if they hope to continue their undefeated stretch. While scoring has come in bunches, it is just as important to remain defensively stout, as Herman emphasized.

The team plays again this Saturday at Manhattanville College.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Sept. 18 print edition. Email Nikki Foreman at [email protected].