Coming off a tie against St. Bonaventure, the Bison were excited to give the Peter Baldwin Memorial Classic in Burlington, Vt. their best effort. They first played LIU Brooklyn on Sept. 2. Within the first 14 minutes of play, LIU scored twice. In the 49th minute, LIU Brooklyn scored again, increasing their lead to 3-0. The Bison fought hard to come back, but Justin Galiani’s ’17 header off of Andrew Leischner’s ’17 corner kick was not enough to grasp the win. The Orange and Blue lost 3-1, moving to 0-2-1.

“It has been a tough opening of the season. However, we feel like it will help us in the long term,” head coach Brendan Nash said. “Once again, we only had one exhibition match to get ready for the regular season. We do this in order to have more time to work on fitness and come together as a team,” he said.

Nash explained that this “puts us a little behind other teams in the beginning of the season. Yet, our team has been working hard to get in the best shape possible for our Patriot League games at the end of September. They all have positive attitudes and I do not think the tough start to the season will affect us down the road.”

The Bison took the field ready to win on Sept. 4 against Sacred Heart. And win they did. In the 30th minute, Leischner passed the ball to Nick King ’20, who then sent it back to Leischner, and he scored from the top of the 30-yard box. With this goal, the Bison created a thrilling lead. However, Sacred Heart scored next and tied up the game in the 57th minute, making the score 1-1.

Then, in the 83rd minute, Zack Rockmore ’17 scored off a penalty kick. This secured the win for the Bison, making their new record 1-2-1. The Orange and Blue out-shot Sacred Heart 17-9 and goalkeeper Tyler Marchiano ’20 had two saves. Tyler Peterson ’19, Leischner, and Rockmore were each named to the All-Tournament Team.

With this winning momentum, the men’s soccer team will travel to the Dusquesne Invitational playing Canisius on Sept. 9, followed by Wofford on Sept. 11.