Luckily for its players, it didn’t take long for the team to get back on the right track.
The Lions went on the road and made a statement that they are far from the team that won only three games last season, garnering a 4-0 victory over Nichols College.,Coming off a 5-1 shellacking at the hands of Johnson and Wales University, Emerson’s men’s soccer team needed to regroup.
Luckily for its players, it didn’t take long for the team to get back on the right track.
The Lions went on the road and made a statement that they are far from the team that won only three games last season, garnering a 4-0 victory over Nichols College.
It was the first time the two schools had met in recent memory, according to Head Coach Jared Scarpaci, who said he is quite pleased with his team’s play thus far.
Senior captain Cody Schram is optimistic about this year’s squad.
“We are off to a better start this season,” said Schram. “We have a lot of potential and more depth than in years past. This is a very deep team.”
Sophomore Mike Bianco said the team is starting to play more soundly.
“Our passes are starting to get in place,” said Bianco. “We are fixing our attacking problems.”
Both Schram and Bianco pointed to the new freshman class as playing a role in the early success.
Schram said, “The freshmen have shown they can play at the college level.”
With a new field at the Rotch Playground and a talented freshman class, there is hope for the years to come. But just looking at this season, the team is setting ambitious long-term goals.
“Ultimately, winning the GNAC (Great Northeast Athletic Conference) and going to the NCAAs,” said Schram of the team’s objectives. “Having a better season. We had a quiet year last year, but we fed off that. We are more motivated.”
“Winning as much as we can,” added Bianco. “And working hard everyday to get better.”
Scarpaci kept the positive answers coming when talking about his goals for the season.
“Finishing above 500 and making the playoffs are our goals,” said Scarpaci. “We’d like to be consistently competitive.”
The Lions matched their win total from a season ago when they picked up their first win against another GNAC opponent on Sept. 16 in Nashua, N.H when they faced Rivier College.
Emerson trailed 2-1 at halftime but came out strong in the second period. The Lions scored four goals in the half and wound up with a 5-4 victory.
Will Sagar led the Lions on the field with two goals and an assist, while Chris Mathias and Schram both chipped in a goal and an assist as Emerson won its first in-conference game of the season. The Lions now boast an overall record of 3-1-1 record and are 1-1-0 in GNAC play.
Emersons next home game is Sept. 21 versus the University of Massachusetts, Boston.