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HUNTINGDON -- Juniata College men's soccer season opens next Friday and there's no doubt the Eagles are looking for a rebound campaign.
In 2023, Juniata finished 6-9-1 and lost four of their final five games.
"Our focus is how we grind on the daily. We want to press our opponent, turn them over in bad spots, and be vertical and forward minded in our possession. If we do that well, we'll put ourselves in a position to win plenty of matches," Eagles coach Brendan Grady said when asked about goals for the coming season.
Juniata did win four of their first six games to open last season. Grady wants his club to be more of a force against their opponent moving forward.
"Be more aggressive in our pressing and more clinical finishing the chances we create. We'll be looking at how often we turn over our opponents in advantageous spots versus how often we get turned over in bad spots. If we keep that differential in the positive, we'll be in a position to win matches," Grady noted.
Juniata is a part of the Landmark Conference, which has plenty of tough foes for the Eagles to battle this year.
"We are lucky to play in the Landmark where each match is fiercely competitive. We have a nice diet of non-conference matches that will hopefully prepare us well for our conference slate," Grady said.
Last season, Catholic was first in the Landmark with a 7-0-2 in-conference record (12-7-2 overall). Lycoming was second with the same in-conference mark and were 11-4-6 overall. Juniata went 2-7 against the Landmark and was eighth in the 10-team conference.
Juniata brings back familiar faces to help lead the team.
"Our captains this year are our seniors, John Hanosek, Victor Vandenbroek, and Sean Weiland. They are strong leaders and I expect them to drive high standards in the program," Grady added.
What can Juniata fans expect in terms of style of play?
"We get to live in a hard-working community and we want our style of play to reflect our environment. We will press teams aggressively and be downhill in transition to create chances. Hopefully, it is an entertaining style and that opponents will have to suffer to beat us," Grady explained about his program.
When the Juniata men's soccer season is over, Grady would like his team to look back with pride.
"I'm less worried about singling out individuals. I think if we approach our matches with hunger and humility collectively we'll be able to look back on the season come December with pride," the Eagles coach said.
Juniata travels to play Pitt.-Greensburg at 4:30 next Friday afternoon.