By Nick Bond

As the Pride men’s soccer team prepares to play for their season in Wilmington, N.C. this Friday, they are undoubtedly looking back at their season, thinking about the highs and the lows, the ups and downs, the missed chances and miracle goals that put the team in the position it stands today. They are looking for a win against the conference’s best squad to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

The season seemed to start off strong enough, picking up four points in their first four games, including a 4-1 road win against then-No. 13 Virginia Tech. Despite a spectacular performance throughout the season by freshman phenomenon Brett Carrington, the Pride stumbled through the rest of their non-conference schedule, losing their final three games by a combined score of 6-0, with losses against Temple, Tulsa and then-No. 2 SMU.

Limping into conference play, the Pride posted a 2-2 draw against Georgia State, but soon after continued their season-long struggle to score, losing their next two CAA games in two more shutouts, losing 3-0 to VCU and just 4 days later, went down 2-0 against Northeastern.

But just when all seemed lost, a familiar face brought the Pride back from the brink. Thanks to some help by a hapless Hen squad, the Pride beat UDel 3-0, put three points on the ledger, and more importantly placed hope back in their hearts, which propelled them to a 4-game unbeaten streak. In just two weeks, the Pride saw themselves pushed from the bottom of the barrel to the middle of the pack, and with the taste of a playoff berth on the tips of their tongues, they arrived at the College of William and Mary on the 25th of October.

It was here, however, that it seemed that the train that the Pride were riding to the postseason derailed. The scoring woes that had plagued the Pride for the first half of the season reared their ugly head, as the Pride simply could not place the ball in the back of the net, losing 1-0 on a penalty kick.

Thankfully for the Pride, in their next game, the Pride played one of their best games to date, scoring twice in the last 3 minutes to earn a draw against Towson. Because of the miraculous effort at the end of this game, and their performance against JMU, the Pride now find themselves a win away from playing in the postseason. This is not a simple challenge however, as they play conference leader UNC-Wilmington, a team looking to clinch home field for the whole of the tourney, at home.

But perhaps that is just how the Pride wants it.