Anthony Cittadino, Sports Editor

The Utica College men’s soccer team opened up their season Thursday afternoon at Union College. UC ended their season last year with a record of 5-13; not exactly an ideal finish. The Pioneers couldn’t seem to find a rhythm, as they lost 5-0 in this one.

Things are starting out familiar for the Pioneers but they plan on to push through this loss. Senior Owen Gillam had some thoughts after the match.

“It might take us a few games to get everything figured out, but we have the personnel to go far this season, we just have to tweak a few things here and there,” Gillam said. “The biggest difference between this year and last is the fact that we no longer have Mr. Reliable playing up top. Losing a player of Shane Ruffing’s quality is a loss we have to adapt to, but I think we are more than capable of doing so.”

The Dutchmen wasted no time as they opened up the match scoring in the sixth minute. Union pulled far away from the Pioneers after the eighteenth minute, scoring three goals in less than four minutes. The first half ended with a score of 4-0.

The Pioneers played better in the second half of the match, but still couldn’t get anything going while giving up another insurance goal to the Dutchmen.

“The second half our team seemed to settle down, become more organized, and overall deal with the threats Union threw our way,” Gillam said. “This loss was caused by an inability to stop goals in bunches. Our team has had this trend over the past year or so, and this is highlighted by the fact that we don’t tend to give up a single goal, we give up two or three over the span of a few minutes.”

The senior seemed frustrated but knows this is a process for this program and plans to do anything to move this team forward. The Pioneers will return to action this Saturday as they host Maritime College for the Utica College Invitational.