ANDERSON, S.C. - On Wednesday, (Feb. 3) the South Atlantic Conference announced the preseason polls for the upcoming men's soccer season. The Anderson University Trojans were selected to finish fourth in the poll voted on by the coaches. After a long hiatus due to COVID-19, coach Michael Zion and the Trojans are ready to get back on the pitch for the first time in 444 days.
"It's been difficult for sure but I'm thankful that we have had the opportunity to get on the field and train," said Zion. "The team players feel the same way. We all have friends and/or colleagues who did not have the same opportunities, so we knew we needed to be appreciative, but we also saw an opportunity to take advantage. Obviously, what we thought was going to be a season in the fall turned into only training sessions. We had to adjust and shift all our focus towards development, as a team but also as individuals. Now we're just excited, ready to go and looking forward to Feb 11 at Mars Hill."
The Trojans are coming off a stellar 2019-20 campaign in which they finished with a record of 12-6-1, including a trip to the SAC Men's Soccer Championship game. Coach Zion will have two key returners this season: Harry Ward and Alexander Cox-Ashwood. Ward was named to the All-SAC first team, while Cox-Ashwood earned second-team honors.
"Harry and Alexander are two good players that the team will rely on this season," said Zion. "Both are very talented, and both have the ability to perform at a high level, so the focus for both will be to perform at that high level as consistently as possible."
Anderson will kick off their eight-game schedule on Feb. 11th when they travel to Mars Hill. The following week, they will start a three game homestand against Coker, Queens, and Newberry. The last half of the schedule includes away contests at Limestone, Queens, and Newberry, with the last home match coming against Limestone on Mar. 25.
