Men’s soccer eager and hungry for this season
After just four games of their 18-game season, men’s soccer is looking forward to a prospective shot at the CCC title.
Going into 2019, Men’s Soccer Head Coach James Greenslit strongly believes the team has what it takes to get back to the conference finals, where their season ended in November 2018.
“The motivation from the way it ended last year has really carried over and sparked a lot of our guys to be coming back in shape,” Greenslit said. “They’re hungry to make it a little bit further this season.”
After graduating only two players last year, the Hawks are back this season with nine seniors who are all eager to contribute to the team.
“It’s a fun group to be around,” said Greenslit. “It’s pretty much the same group we had last year so there’s some consistency. These guys have seen the ups and downs throughout the course of their time here. I think that they have seen some things that they really like and they want to incorporate into their leadership, and hopefully we can rely on our upperclassmen to carry us forward.”
Joining the team this year are five new freshman recruits, who Greenslit said are becoming valuable additions to the team.
“I think the freshmen have come into the fold,” said Greenslit. “Some of them have some strong personalities that have added a good dynamic.”
After a tie against Rhode Island College and a loss against Clark this past weekend, the Hawks’ record currently stands at 1-2-1.
“Opening weekend we played against two really good teams, Brandeis being this perennial powerhouse in New England and William Patterson being a very strong team from New Jersey,” said Greenslit. “We played two really good matches and there’s a lot of positives to take from that.”
When asked about the team’s attitude regarding away games, Greenslit said he’s confident in their ability to compete at other schools.
“I think we proved last year that we have the ability to be able to go on the road,” said Greenslit. “I don’t think that this group gets intimidated by going into someone else’s place and having to play a match. So I’m excited about the experience that these guys have and hopefully we can use that to our advantage, home or away.”
The Hawks will play Johnson and Wales this upcoming Saturday, their first home game of the season.
“It’s a really good group of guys that have come together, and that have worked hard,” said Greenslit. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get to that point where we could get some redemption.”
