Season Preview: Men's soccer looking to bounce back

The Wright State men’s soccer squad begins its 2013 campaign Friday evening when the Raiders travel to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Raiders are coming off a tough season where losing close games became a trend. WSU was 0-4 in overtime contests in 2012. Last year’s leading scorer Brett Elder said that as long as everyone handles their job, the squad will close out tight contests.

“We were in most of the games and we competed well,” Elder said. “Last year when we got ahead, the emphasis was to defend [the lead].”

Head coach Bryan Davis is hoping a top-40 recruiting class will improve the Raiders from the 4-13-1 mark a year ago.

“There is competition at every position,” Davis said.

The Raiders return their top three scorers from last season including Elder who had 21 points. Even Elder is feeling the competition from Davis’ talented recruiting class.

“Practices are exciting as they all want to play,” Elder said. “They are making everyone else better by working as hard as they can and they make us work harder because we want to keep our spots.”

Senior centerback Greg Marchand said that practices have been as intense if not more intense than games.

“We added a lot of speed on the wings and added a lot of at midfield,” Marchand said. “This year, we are definitely looking to be at the top of the Horizon League and hopefully in the NCAA Tournament.”

After a rough start to the preseason where the Raiders lost 2-0 to Marquette, the Raiders concluded the exhibition slate with wins over Slippery Rock and Duquesne.