Junior Shane Lucas had but one word to describe how it feels to have more wins three weeks into the 2010 season than all the wins combined in the 2009 season, “awesome.”            As a whole, the Point Park University men’s soccer team has had more wins in six games this season than they had the entire last season combined. The team currently has a record of 5-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play, and are “looking to go to play-offs,” Lucas said.            Lucas, a defender from West Homestead, has played for the mens soccer team for three years. Red-shirting his freshman year for eligibility issues, he plans on going to graduate school and taking advantage of his extra season. Lucas has played soccer for 11 years, playing football for one year in high school before switching to soccer for the last three.            Coming into the 2010 season, Lucas was named captain for the second year in a row alongside his co-captain Alex Sala.”It’s nice to know that my leadership has been shown to my coach and my teammates,” Lucas said. “Its always nice to be recognized.”            Sophomore midfielder Phil Malle speaks highly of Lucas’ skills as a leader. “He is a very solid physical presence on the field. He wins most of the head balls in the midfield and is a great communicator.”            But it is not all about “on the field” leadership.”Shane’s leadership starts off the field.” Malle said, “He is the teammate that lets you know where to be or what time a bus leaves for a game that day, and he is a leader by example, which is very important. Any time Coach [Walstra] criticizes his play or something he did wrong, he just takes it and learns from it without talking back to Coach or getting an attitude.”            A big difference this year for the men’s program is the dedication head coach Jeroen Walstra can show to the men’s team without the responsibility of the women’s program as well. When asked about the difference between this season and last season’s coaching, Shane said. “It definitely made a difference. Coach now has more time dedicated to the men’s team, scouting, and looking up opposing teams stats and players, just all around more focus.”            It looks like that focus is being mirrored in the way the men’s team is playing as well. After their first conference game win, Lucas said, “It was a good confidence builder. It showed we can be a play-off caliber team and that it’s possible to make play-offs if we keep doing what we’re doing.”            With a big conference win under their belts, Lucas said the difference between this year’s competition level and last year’s is that the men’s team “finally has a group of guys that are all committed to winning and making a difference.”            This team spirit comes from a leader that cares about the team as much, if not more than himself.”Shane is a funny guy and has a good head on his shoulders,” Malle said. “I have a class with him this semester and it seems like he is excelling in the classroom as well as on the field. Shane is just a good person, a good leader and most importantly a good friend to have watching your back on and off the field.”            A quality that many look for in a leader is confidence in the team. Not only does his team have good things to say about him, but Lucas has nothing but good things to say when it comes to his teammates.”Competitiveness is the key to our program this year,” Lucas said. “Every guy on the team is willing to do whatever it takes to win, which pushes us that much more. We’re looking to strengthen our program as a whole this year, and making play-offs will do that.”