Rustlers Men’s Soccer gearing up for 2023-24 season
Lakeland College is used to seeing success on the pitch, but is there another stage coming this season?
That's the question Coach Kevin Wagner will see answered when the men's soccer team hits the critical stages of their 2023 campaign, which is less than a month away. The squad, which narrowly missed out on making one of the six slots at the ACAC Conference Championship last fall, enter the season with high expectations and plenty of talent.
"This year has been a good mix of guys returning with new players," Wagner said.
Multiple veterans are gone, including last year's MVP, Gio Cicacci, but there are still 16 returning players to provide stability for the incoming recruits. There were 27 players in training camp at the start of August, going through physical and mental training, as well as opportunities for the players to bond.
Wagner said the first 10 days have always felt like a struggle early in the past to get personalities to mix, but this group is bucking the trend so far.
"Our new players are fitting in and the old players are comfortable leading, but they're not taking time off assuming they have playing time locked up," he said. "We have competition within every position. Now we just have work on decision making, tactics and maintaining fitness."
The club has several exhibition games this month, including a trip to Lethbridge where they will play the Kodiaks and the Olds Broncos. The Rustlers will also face the Keyano Huskies later in August, the team that eliminated them from championship contention last fall.
"We're at a point where we're a good program, it's just a matter of if we can make a run [at the podium]," Wagner said. "We're happy with our competitive consistency, now it's just to get to that next level."
The Rustlers soccer teams open league play on the road this year, with a Sept. 9th showdown with the NAIT Ooks, who lost in the ACAC title match last year. Their home opener is the following afternoon against the Concordia Thunder.