The men’s soccer season was cut short on Saturday after suffering a 3-1 loss to West Virginia University (WVU) Tech in the River States Conference (RSC) quarterfinals.

The Pioneers were going into the playoffs after one of the best seasons in program history. Point Park won 11 games for just the fifth time in the program’s 29-year history.

The Pioneers also had one of the hottest offenses in the RSC. Both Alan Ramos and Roberto Whitley were placed on the conference’s first team. They were also pretty stout defensively as sophomore Marc Bentley and junior Ryan Daniels made the RSC’s second team for defense and goalkeeping, respectively.

The game was played on the road at WVU Tech’s home field. Daniels was given the nod to start in net and was able to stop 12 of 15 shots on goal.

The entire first half went by and neither team was able to break through for the game’s first goal. Daniels made four saves and WVU Tech’s Jose Domingo was able to hold off two shots.

In the game’s 51st minute, WVU Tech’s Francisco Neto was able to open up the scoring, 23 minutes would pass before WVU Tech scored again in the 74th minute.

Ten minutes later, Point Park finally found themselves on the board when senior Josh Williams scored on a free kick, making the score 2-1.

That would go on to be the Pioneers only goal as about a minute later WVU Tech would bounce back with another goal of their own. The game, and the Pioneers season, came to an end with a 3-1 score.

Despite losing in the opening round of the playoffs, some of the members are looking back on a great 2017 season, and looking ahead to be even better in 2018.

“It definitely is tough and unfortunate,” Daniels said. “But you just have to reflect on all of the positives from your season and move forward to make the needed changes.”

The guys on this team are a tight knit group of players who are not only teammates but lifelong friends. They want to come out next season stronger than this past season.

“No one is separate; everyone is friends with everyone,” Whitley said. “Everyone would run through a brick wall for a teammate.”

Despite losing key pieces next season in Ramos and Williams, the Pioneers have a young core that can hold its own going forward. Players like Mitchell Roell, who had a surprisingly great season for a freshman, and Whitley will become the head of the offense. Yuki Takeda and Bentley, who are both sophomores, will continue to hold down a strong defense.

Look for the Pioneers to be just as strong of a force next year as they were this year.