Men's Soccer Looks to Have Strong 2024 Season

Note to media: For more information, contact David Loomis, assistant sports information director, at david.loomis@hastings.edu.

(Hastings, Nebraska) – A week into the start of fall practice, first year men's soccer coach Brad Green and his team are competing hard as they look toward the non-conference schedule. The Broncos were voted to finish fifth in the preseason GPAC poll.

"The biggest takeaway this week is that we've got a great group, first and foremost," Green said. "We've got a really good culture within the group, lads are working hard. The first week is always tough, physically and mentally. We have new players coming in with senior players and getting them mixed in, but it's been a fantastic week. We've got a really good balance of quality senior players that are looking to finish their careers strong and then we've got the young lads and the transfers coming in. They're bringing in that energy and looking to push for places and minutes."

The Broncos were recently voted to finish fifth in the preseason GPAC poll this season, a spot that senior midfielder Uzayr Lee believes that the team can surpass.

"Everyone knows the standards of the team and the standards of Hastings College. Last year wasn't the best in regards to where we finished, but I feel like coming into this year and into preseason everyone has put in the work. They've done what they needed to do and there's a lot to expect from the team because we have so much talent and hard-working players that look to improve one percent every day. I think the mentality of the team is a really good one, winning mentality, so hopefully that takes up forward. We need to be where we were in the past few years as a Hastings College men's soccer program," Lee said.

"Coach came in and made sure the guys knew the standards of the team and what needed to be put in, in order for us to be where we need to be when we came in. I feel like he's done a really good job and made sure everyone got their work in during the summer so we can come in fit. I feel like a lot of guys have put in the work this past week so we know what to expect from the coaching staff, as well as from our players. I feel like moving forward, we should be a really good team and there should be exciting times ahead," Lee continued.

One of the incoming freshmen, midfielder and forward Moises Trochez, says he envisions this group being fun to watch with lots of offense.

"(Fans) will be expecting a good group of guys that are hard working, disciplined, and a lot of talent and experience with all of the seniors. I think there is going to be a lot of goals and victories this season," Trochez said.

After tying for fourth place in the GPAC last year, senior defender Chayten Srai wants to improve their record by focusing on improving every day.

"Obviously fourth wasn't good enough last year from the previous years, so we're hoping to get a lot better than that. We have to take it day-by-day in order to improve that. We have to focus on every training session, every match, and we can't get ahead of ourselves if something goes right and we can't get too disappointed if something goes wrong. It's a long season, but we have to just take it step-by-step and hopefully we move in the right direction," Srai said.

"We've been training for around a week now and the boys that have come in have been excellent. They've been working hard, fighting in every training session, and I'm sure a lot of the boys are going to fight for places in the team," Srai continued.

Green expressed that because it is a long season, the teams' ability to build relationships both on and off the pitch will have a big impact on their season.

"One of the main things is obviously our principles of play. What do we expect from each other in different moments of the game? We're making sure that we're clear in terms of what the expectations are and then also being intentional with our time together by getting to know each other's personalities, what makes each other tick, and how we can react to feedback on and off the field," Green continued. "We're going to have some good moments and some moments to learn, so having that relationship off the field and on the pitch is going to be super important to our success this year."

The season gets underway on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Bellevue University, an NAIA Tournament Quarterfinalist squad a year ago, in Papillion, NE.

"With all of the hard work that we've been putting in this week, it's been tough but we have overcome the tasks," Trochez said. "With the experience and all of the talent that this team has, I think that it should be a good game this Saturday. We know they're physical, they went to nationals, but we're eager to play them on Saturday and we're eager to win our first game."

The Bellevue match at Papillion Landing in Papillion, NE will kickoff at 7:30pm on Aug. 17.

Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.