By Gina Morrone ’14
Lafayette Men’s Soccer looks to kick start its season after a 0-1 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson University on Tuesday’s season opener. The game was the first of seven before the team begins Patriot League play.
“Every game we play our main goal is to win,” captain Sean Peckham ’13 said. “But we hope in these early games we work out any kinks or issues that are holding us back from the ultimate goal of winning the [Patriot League].”
Scheduled non-Patriot League away games will take the team as far south as Maryland to take on Mount St. Mary’s, and as far north as Connecticut to face Quinnipiac.
“I think the road trips and preseason games were not only a big test, but an opportunity to build some chemistry with guys on and off the field,” midfielder Alec Golini ’14 said.
Patriot League play will begin at Navy on September 22. For the past two seasons, Lafayette narrowly missed the Patriot League Tournament. Competition among schools like Lehigh, American, and reigning champions Colgate will be tough. The Leopards are predicted to finish similarly to last year: fifth in the preseason polls. Colgate is expected to win the Patriot League once again.
This week, Colgate was ranked fourth in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Mid-Atlantic Regional top 10. Friday, they collected a 3-2 win over Binghamton, and tied St. Johns 1-1.
The Lafayette squad hopes to meet the challenges that other Patriot Leagues teams will pose.
“Last spring we spent a lot of time working on a new formation to get more attacking play,” defender Brandon Turner ’14 said.
“Our new formation and personnel have allowed us to play a bit of a different style, but guys also brought a lot of focus, commitment, and leadership to each training session, which will hopefully pay off this fall,” Golini said.
The addition of a strong freshman class and an experienced sophomore class will also help to create depth in the program.
“We took time to look on what we need to do to get better,” Golini said. “We’ve gotten better as a whole from last year.”