By Will Stadler
The grass has been freshly cut, the lines have been freshly striped, and although Mother Nature has not yet started to cooperate, the feelings of the fall have slowly started to set in. The long summer has given way to a new academic year, which means the 2024-2025 William Peace University athletic season is underway.
One of the first sports to kick off is the men’s soccer team, coached by Ryan Huber. The Pacers were able to finish third in the conference after last year’s regular season, but lost in the conference tournament semifinal game to rival NC Wesleyan.
A new year means a new team, and this year, the Pacers have been picked to finish second in the conference.
“We have that winning mentality,” said sophomore midfielder Gavin Beaupre. “We want redemption from last year. We now know the steps we have to take and we’ve been putting in the work all off-season.”
High expectations mean added pressure and a heightened amount of responsibility. This year’s team can be considered young in comparison to the conference, yet they have a balanced dynamic in terms of experience.
“We’ve played three different combinations of rosters in our preseason games,” said Beaupre. “We believe we could effectively start up to 18 different guys.”
The Pacers are using that balance to spread out the responsibilities of leadership.
“We lost a big leader from last year. Our starting goalkeeper and team captain was a senior,” said Beaupre. “Our goals will stay the same, we will just need some young guys to step up.”
One of the oldest sayings in team sports says “defense wins championships,” and defensive consistency was an issue at times for the Pacers last year. After going a week without giving up a single goal, the Pacers would let three into the net in the semifinal lost to Wesleyan.
“Confidence is the most important thing to us,” said Beaupre. “When a team has confidence in what they can do, it makes a world of difference.” Gavin and his teammates feel that a heightened belief in what the team is capable of defensively, as well as offensively could lead to longer-term success.
Injuries also affected the Pacers’ 2023 campaign. A goal of this year’s team is to stay healthy on a consistent basis, triggering more confidence and a higher level of energy on gameday.
While injuries are inevitable in sports, especially at the collegiate level, there are several OFF insect sprays for the dreaded “injury bug.”
“I just think everyone has to buy in every single day,” said Beaupre. “Staying healthy is very important in soccer because the games are long and taxing. Whether it be recovery, physical therapy, or getting work done in the weight room, we have to hold ourselves accountable.”
With an athletic program that has come up short in the last five trips to a conference championship, the 2024 men’s soccer team is seeking to be the team that gets the Pacers over the hump.
There is a sense of urgency around this year’s team that might not have been present in past years.
“We definitely have the talent to get the job done,” said Beaupre. “We’re going for the conference championship.”
Regrets will not be an issue for the Pacers this year, “none of us want to be looking back three months from now asking ourselves if we could have done more,” said Beaupre. The Pacers are determined, physically and mentally, to launch themselves over any adversity and capture that elusive conference championship.
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