During the Fall 2015 season, Southern Vermont College men’s soccer team consisted of a majority of freshmen, making them a new and inexperienced collegiate level team. From being fresh out of high school, many of the young players did not realize how different collegiate level sports would be. Therefore, with the lack of experience of knowledge in collegiate-level sports, the team struggled to overcome many challenges and only won four of the 18 conference games. With so many losses, the team was unable to participate in the NECC playoffs.

Now, entering a new season, the team has a chance to redeem themselves. This year, the majority of the team consists of returning veterans, who are determined to make the playoffs after last year’s devastating loss, and a handful of talented freshmen. Being a new season, it brought along a new Head Coach, Greg Gilmore, who was once a successful player for the Mountaineers. With  new coaching and determination, the teams has successfully put themselves in a good ranking spot for the season.

By now, the team has already participated in seven games, with their overall score being a three-three-one, and has been ranked higher than last year’s predictions. Although, the team has been successful, Tuesday, September 20th, was a battle for the team against Lyndon St. College.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a win and the team lost the game to LSC in a double-overtime, three-to-two. Even though the team lost, it does not affect their ranking in the conference, still giving them the chance for the playoffs. Coach Gilmore believes that the team has improved incredibly since last season and believes that they will make it to the playoffs. With matches against teams like Mitchell, Becker, and Wheelock, that were close games last season, the team has a huge opportunity at participating in the playoffs for this year, ending the season on a higher note than last.