LOUDONVILLE, NY - Entering his seventh season at the helm of the Siena Men's Soccer program, Head Coach Cesar Markovic took steps in the offseason in between campaigns to prepare his squad to defend their name away from home.
Armed with three mid-year transfers, Markovic scheduled four challenging spring scrimmages for the team to play in, including bouts at 2018 NCAA Tournament participants North Carolina State and James Madison.
"Our Spring 2019 schedule gave the team the opportunity to lead to have the same effectiveness on the road that they have had at home over the last couple of years," Markovic said.
With over 40 wins under his belt at Siena, Markovic again used the preseason leading up to this weekend's opening action to prepare his squad, which looks to build from a 5-10-3 mark in 2018. The team tied a nationally-ranked Virginia team in Charlottesville on August 17 before falling at Navy two days later.
"Those two games gave us an immediate challenge, with a chance to endure some fatigue, see where we were as a team and then have 10 days to recover before the regular season begins."
Commencing their season on the road for the third year in a row, the Saints will look to win with the road warrior mentality this weekend when they take on Lafayette on Friday August 30 at 7:00 p.m. and Saint Francis University (PA) on Sunday, September 1 at 2:00 p.m.
Despite returning just a handful of starters from last year, the Saints will look to combine young leadership with budding talent as they begin their non-conference state.
Transfer junior Jacob Pacheco will join senior Eddie Dakwa and sophomore goalkeeper Greg Monroe as the team's captains in 2019, while incoming sophomores Aaron Martin and Birgir Thorsteinsson return following MAAC All-Rookie Team honors a season ago.
Coming off an NJCAA Division I National Championship run with Pima Community College in Tuscon, Arizona, Pacheco came to the Capital Region as part of 11 newcomers that will make up a team that is competitive in all areas and ever-developing.
"We are hoping that our newcomers will make a world of difference this season, especially in inspiring solid play in our back line," Markovic said. "Along with a national champion in Jacob, we added three international players that competed at the highest amateur levels in their respective countries, and we couldn't be more excited about it."
Joining coach Markovic on the sidelines this season is new assistant coach Jim Clementi, who joins the Saints with five years of collegiate coaching experience, as well as second-year goalkeeper coach Riley Ford.
Picked tenth in the 2019 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the squad will begin conference play on the road at Canisius on Wednesday, October 2, with plans to improve on a 4-6 mark last year that featured two wins in their final three matches.
Following a three-game road trip to start the season, Siena will begin play at home for the 2019 season on Sunday, September 8 at 1:00 p.m. against Bryant University at Hickey Field.
