The PNW men’s soccer team is hungry for renewed success.

“This is a really ambitious group,” said Lucas Dunn, the men’s soccer head coach. “It makes it easy for us to push them and challenge them”.

Despite losing five of its first seven games of the season, the team remains eager.

“It was a wake-up call that we need to kick it into gear,” said Charlie Newton, a sophomore midfielder. “We are kind of the underdogs now in terms of our conference.

We want to get back on top,” he said. “It is a challenge that we are still overcoming … but we are getting back into it. Right now, we are back on track”.

The team ended its 2023 season 10-4-4, winning the GLIAC conference championship and playing in the national ACHA Division 1 tournament.  Last year, the team finished with 7-9-2 overall.

After its season-opening losses, the Pride secured a 3-1 win over Walsh University on Sept. 13. 

“Getting back on the winning track was important … for the success of the team and … their confidence,” said Dunn. “Hopefully that will give us a bit of momentum … and get on a winning streak and build things up from there. 

This is a rebuilding season, with 17 new players being added to the returning 22.

“This season will be a lot different since … almost half the team are new to the team this year,” said Dunn. “It is a combination of incoming freshman and transfers … eight freshman and nine transfers. I think the biggest challenge is going to be how quickly we can … come together”.

But players are optimistic.

“They bring a lot of quality,” said Xavier Potts, a junior defenseman and midfielder. “Quality like that, it can instantly help on the field. We are meshing well together … it has been really good. 

“I think we have a great group of guys that want to push through the tough times and want to become closer as a team,” he said. “We’ve got so much energy and confidence in ourselves. And I think the results will follow as that happens more”.