Plattsburgh State men’s soccer is looking to repeat on what they did last year when they went 15-6-1 with a 6-3-0 conference record and won the SUNYAC tournament by defeating Buffalo State, Oneonta and Cortland.
However, the Cardinals were unable to make it past the first round in the NCAA division III tournament, losing to Wheaton College 2-0.
Assistant coach Geoffrey Spear believes the team will have a positive season.
“We had such a young team last year, bringing that experience back in while only losing four seniors,” Spear said. “I believe that the recruits that came in are definitely going to help us go far this year.”
Head coach Chris Waterbury is not sure what to expect from his team this year, which contains an 11-person freshman class. Waterbury is ready to expect the unexpected because he isn’t sure what the team is going to show.
Mitchell Jordon, a junior goalie who last year started 16 games for PSUC and recorded 59 saves with an 11-5 record, said he believes that the team will be able to compete this year at a high level with the more experienced team and a strong recruiting class.
Waterbury said that with the loss of the four seniors, he isn’t sure who will be the ones to take a leadership role with this team. Waterbury said he believes that the team’s question isn’t who the good players are, but who is going to take charge.
“I think a lot of guys have made positive steps forward in that respect, but it may be an interesting team where we may not have that one incredibly outstanding player,” Waterbury said. “I think we are going to have a lot of really good players, but the jury is out on one who is exceptional.”
The Cardinal Classic showed the team what needs to be improved on for the rest of the season.
Jordon and Spear both agree that after the Cardinal Classic, which was played behind Plattsburgh High School while the PSUC field is getting new sod, the team has things to improve on.
Spear believes that the team needs to work on its chemistry.
He said the chemistry aspect will come. However, he added that the team needs to have more time together as a unit before that happens.
Spear also believes that the team needs to focus more on being consistent.
“I thought even in the 2-0 win we were inconsistent. We did some really nice things and some not so nice things,” Spear said.
“Even in the loss we did some nice things, not enough when we needed it, and obviously we had a few mistakes and paid for them.”
Waterbury agrees with Spear on that. He said the team needs to be able to defend more consistently on their side.
Jordon believes the main thing the team needs to improve on is communication, which he said needs to be quicker between the lines.
“We are a young team,” Jordon said. “Just getting used to being able to play with each other, what our movements are like, that will come with time.”
On Wednesday, the Cards were able to come back from their 2-0 loss to Misericordia, winning 2-0 in a matchup against Norwich.
Sophomore Alexis Archilla scored his second goal of the season, with freshmen Nicholas Laurent contributing a goal as well. Jordon was able to make two saves on the only shots that came his way.
PSUC held Norwich to only nine shots while the Cards took 28, showing the improvement Waterbury hoped for with his team’s defensive play.
They improve to 2-1 this season and 1-0 in conference play.
PSUC will play at Hobart at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Email Nick Topping at
sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
