The men’s soccer team opened River States Conference (RSC) play last week with a pair of road matches against Brescia (Ky.) University and Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) University.

The Pioneers failed to overcome an early goal against the Bearcats in the conference opener last Thursday. Brescia opened by scoring just 44 seconds after kickoff, and Point Park could not find the net despite leading 12-9 in shots, eight of which were on goal.

Sophomore forward Mitchell Roell led the Pioneers with five shots, three on goal, and sophomore midfielder Geert Bijl followed with two shots, both on goal.

Point Park became the team to jump to an early lead just two days later in its next road matchup against Cincinnati Christian. Freshman midfielder Christopher Ciucanu scored in the 2nd minute with an assist from Bijl, and Roell notched another goal in the 28th minute. The Eagles finally appeared on the scoreboard in the 30th minute but still trailed by one at the half.

Bijl earned the Pioneers’ third goal of the game in the 74th minute, and freshman midfielder Ndayisenga Emmanuel collected the assist. The Netherlands native now boasts six goals for the season and is the leading scorer for Point Park.

Cincinnati Christian once again faced a two-goal deficit but managed to close the gap to one in the 80th minute. The Eagles proved unsuccessful to edge the Pioneers further, and Point Park returned home with its first RSC victory.

The Pioneers continue RSC play on their home turf this week against (8) Rio Grande University on Thursday and (RV) West Virginia Tech University on Saturday.