Added experience and depth, new attackers, better team bonding and extra motivation to win. Those are the things that coach Tyler Mensch is counting on to get his Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s soccer team to the next level this season.

The Wildcats open at 7 p.m. Friday at Keystone College in the first of five nonconference road matches over nine days.

“One of our Achilles heels over the years has been our results on the road, and unfortunately, the way our two-year agreements align for this fall, we are road-heavy to begin the season. We talked about it a lot in the spring on how can we be better prepared for road matches this fall, knowing we were going to have a busy first 10 days of our season. We have a deep roster where we feel like we can go further into our bench to hopefully save some legs during our busy stretch,” Mensch said.

Junior goalkeeper Cole Catherman, of Selinsgrove, who had a 2.09 goals against average last season when the Wildcats went 5-10-3 overall and 3-4-1 in the United East Conference, is a key returnee along with juniors Tommy DeGeyter, of Long Valley, New Jersey, a UE second team all-conference defender, and center midfielder Matt Neeson, of Chadds Ford.

Among the new players are Brendan Geiger, of Watsontown, a junior transfer from Mount Aloysius College who played in 35 matches scoring three goals and three assists; and freshmen center midfielder/forward Hunter Gabloff, of Succasunna, New Jersey; defensive midfielder Dakota Buzzy, of Oneonta, New York, a two-time Southern Tier All-Conference defender; Mikey Nemec, of Chalfont, a second-team All-Suburban One Conference goalkeeper; and Logan Pietrzak, of Philadelphia, a Philadelphia Catholic League third-team winger.

“We focused our recruiting efforts in 2023 on attacking players. Of our eight new additions, six are true attacking players who will hopefully spark us in the final third of the field,” Mensch said.

“Our backline and goalkeeper situation is very solid, and if we can stay healthy, should be the strong point of our team,” Mensch said. “Over the spring, we did better in the attack, and being that everyone is another year older, we should be better going forward. I think some of the new guys will bring some flair to our attack that we have not seen in the past as well.”

Commenting on his squad’s preseason, Mensch said, “The first week was real successful, culminating with our first-ever alumni match. We had over 30 alumni show up and we were able to play a full-sided match. 

“Our guys always face a little bit of adversity with how early we start classes and the lack of a true ‘preseason.’ We started classes Aug. 14 and our first official practice was 6 a.m. that day. It is a disadvantage for our guys as almost all schools across every level of play (D-I, D-II and D-III) have a true preseason where they can practice multiple times a day (with no academic classes) and, more importantly, have quality time to bond and start to build chemistry with one another off the field. Despite our class load starting right away, our guys’ energy has been very positive and I feel like this will be one of the closest teams we have ever had.”

Some of that bonding happened during the team’s international trip to England and Scotland in late July-early August.

“Not everyone was able to attend the England and Scotland trip, but for the 19 or so who did, it was a really good experience and helped those guys to get the ball rolling again,” Mensch said. “We played three matches and had two days to train. The guys got to see what it takes to play at a high university level, and two of the teams we played were semi-pro, so seeing the dedication and hard work it takes to get to those levels hopefully resonated with our guys. We definitely got closer as a team by traveling abroad.”

Over the summer, the United East’s merger with the Colonial States Athletic Conference culminated, and this season’s playoffs will have a new look. In the Volt Division are former UE teams Penn College, St. Mary’s (Md.) College, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, Lancaster Bible College, Gallaudet University and Penn State Abington; while in the Skye Division are former CSAC teams Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Clarks Summit University, Keystone College, Notre Dame (Md.) University, Rosemont College, St. Elizabeth University and the University of Valley Forge.

After the regular season, the top six teams will earn a spot in the postseason, which begins with the divisional first round on Oct. 28 (the top two teams get byes). The first-round winners will play in the divisional semifinals on Oct. 30, with division champions crowned on Nov. 1.

On Nov. 4, the two division champions will square off to determine the overall conference champion, with the winner earning the conference’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Championship tournament.

Last year’s conference champions were Penn State Harrisburg in the UE, and Rosemont, which captured the last two consecutive CSAC titles.

“The United East continues to get better each and every year. Our goal every season is to make playoffs, where from there anything can happen,” Mensch said. “Losing 2-1 to Abington toward the end of our 2022 season definitely left a sour taste in the guys’ mouths, and I believe they are using that match as motivation to have a bounce-back year in 2023. 

“In conference play, we need to find more consistency and play at a high level at all times. We have a tendency to play down at times and not get up for every match.

“(The) more teams (in the playoffs) the better. Expanded playoffs create Cinderella stories where there are upsets and improbable things can happen. Teams that are super deep and able to avoid significant injuries will be the ones that have the most ideal path to the United East Championship match.”

Assisting Mensch, in his eighth season at the helm, is Zach Diehl, with volunteer assistants Doug Estes and Alastair Stark.

RECORD/SCHEDULE/SERIES HISTORY

Overall: 0-0

Friday, Sept. 1 — at Keystone College, 7 p.m. (Keystone leads 5-0-1)

Sunday, Sept. 3 — at McDaniel College, 3 p.m. (McDaniel leads 1-0-0)

Tuesday, Sept. 5 — at Gwynedd Mercy University, 7 p.m. (first-time opponent)