Last year’s Point Park University’s men’s soccer season was a hard pill to swallow. A young, injury-riddled team could not seem to catch a break during an unfortunate one-win campaign. The entered this season with chips on their shoulders, waiting to prove they were better than their record indicated.But this year’s team has proven very different from last year’s squad. With the addition of key players, such as sophomore midfielder Alex Sala, a healthy team jumped out of the gates and started the year with a 6-1 record. They would follow this up with losing seven out of their next eight contests, but unlike some of the blowouts that the team was subjected to last year, most of these games came down to the wire. In the eight losses they have suffered, four of them have been decided by one goal. Two of these contests went into overtime, one of which needed a second extra period. A loss is a loss on the record sheet no matter how close the game was; but instead of being blow-outs, these contests have proven that Point Park’s men’s soccer team is becoming increasingly competitive. “We have a core group of players here,” junior defenseman Shane Lucas said.  “We are really playing as a team.”Fourth year Head Coach Jeroen Walstra put the matter more bluntly.”It’s the players,” Walstra said. “Alex couldn’t play last year. We got [freshman midfieldler Manuel Scheckenreither] this year, and we have a more solid defense. It makes us a better team.”Sala could not play last year due to an ineligibility ruling because he lacked credits to play collegiate sports. Sala has not disappointed in his first year playing for Point Park, notching three goals and five assists. This, combined with the addition of Schneckreither, or“Schecky,” and a year’s worth of experience, and an improvement over last year’s squad was inevitable. Despite these improvements, the playoffs will elude the team once again, thanks to their 2-5 American Mideast Conference record. However, the strides that were made this season have left the team feeling optimistic about next year.“Next year we are going to have the same team,” Sala said. “I hope we get some new players…but we should be trying to get to the playoffs.”Walstra agrees, but he expressed concern for the recruitment of players into the program during the next few seasons. “We’re looking for a few players…but there could be a problem recruiting if other schools bid more scholarship money,” Walstra said.Scholarship money will most likely not be a huge issue, but Walstra was still a bit cautious. Almost the entire team will be returning for next season, so the growing-up process will probably end and a playoff-caliber team should take its place.“We are learning from our experiences,” Lucas said. Despite a long slide late in the season, which crippled any chances of reaching the playoffs this year, the team created a strong foundation for future teams’ success. A future playoff run became more likely after the success the team’s this year, especially if they show the same level of improvement next year that they did this season.