Elon University men’s soccer team is zeroing in on a fresh start, following a year in which they went 10-7-1. Head coach Marc Reeves said in order to repeat last season’s strong performance, they must put aside any talk about the previous year.
Head coach Marc Reeves said everything will be a brand new process heading into the season. He acknowledged the team’s four-win improvement from the year before was something to be proud of, but emphasized the importance of handling expectations.
“It’s a brand new team,” Reeves said. “If we talk about what we did last year and just expect that to replicate, it won’t be the case. You have to reset standards.”
Redshirt junior defender Carlos Levy echoed similar thoughts along with Reeves. He said the team adapted a game-by-game mentality, which proved to be beneficial last season. This year, he said he believes they are fully ready to embrace that mindset.
“Last year, we had an emphasis on taking every game just game-by-game,” Levy said. “Every game has its own importance, and that’s the mentality we’re going to carry into this season.”
As for injecting that approach toward the newcomers, Levy said that occurs before the season starts. He explained how it’s important for the younger players to have experienced guys to look up to because it will make the team stronger as a whole. While this might involve criticism, Levy stated that it’s aimed toward everybody becoming better by the end of the season.
“Having that level of respect for each other, is understanding our differences and knowing how strong it makes us as a group,” Levy said. “It comes with pushing each other and understanding that when we are criticizing each other, it’s all for a common goal which is just to improve.”
Most of the players will already be accustomed to this approach, as 19 members from last year’s roster are returning this season. That includes 13 out of 18 players who appeared in at least 10 games.
Reeves said it’s great to have so many guys coming back. He noted that it becomes easier to coach because there is already a sense of trust and familiarity among the players.
“The longer you’re together with good people, the more trust and mutual respect is built,” Reeves said. “As players gain more experience, they put more on themselves and they want more coaching.”
With a healthy amount of players returning, there are areas where the team looks to improve upon such as their defensive performance. Last season, they were a middle-of-the-pack defensive team, finishing fifth in goals allowed with 12. The Phoenix additionally recorded only three shutouts which was one less from the previous year.
Levy said that everybody has to be better on that end for next season. For Elon to improve defensively, he believes it’s a matter of raising the intensity. He stated that even if the team is struggling to score, they can still control the outcome through their defense.
“Last year was unacceptable for our standards,” Levy said. “If you don’t get scoring, you can’t lose so defense will definitely be an emphasis of ours this year, and that just comes with intensity and knowing what the game plan is.”
Perhaps the biggest goal, however, is to get back to the CAA championship after two consecutive defeats in the semifinals.
Getting in that position will involve going through a new scheduling format. In June, the CAA introduced two separate divisions for men’s soccer with one being a North Division, and the other being a South Division. Elon is in the South Division which means they must finish within the top three teams of their division before competing amongst the other two teams in order to get back to the championship.
Reeves said the team expects to finish within the division’s top three teams. He hopes by the end of the season, Elon will hopefully have a tournament ring rather than a regular season ring.
“The goal, as we talk about it, is to get us into that top three,” Reeves said. “It can get us into that championship game, and then find a way to get a championship tournament ring.”
Levy believes that in order to make a run, everybody has to stay true to the team’s mindset. Right now, they are just focused on the opener against University of Alabama at Birmingham on Aug. 21.
“We know what we want, but we also know what it takes to get there,” Levy said. “We’re worried about our season opener, and preparing as well as we can, while staying true to our values as a team.”