American International College Men’s Soccer team is scheduled to play five games this spring season.

The Yellow Jackets are very excited about the challenges these games present. Three out of the five fixtures will be against Division 1 opponents.

Despite finishing in 8th place in the NE-10 standings, the Yellow Jackets had a solid season overall. Even though the season ended earlier than expected, the progress made by the team drew praise from head coach, Luke Perry.

“I am very proud of the boys for what they accomplished this past season,” Coach Perry said. “We turned what could’ve been a disappointing season into something special. Going into the post-season as underdogs, we knew how tough it was going to be.”

AIC knocked off the number one seed in Lemoyne College, avenging their earlier loss: This went down as one of the biggest upsets to occur in the tournament’s history.

On Friday, March 15th, the team will kick off its spring season with an Inter-squad match at 5 pm on the turf field. This game will serve as another assessment tool for the coaches while keeping the boys match fit.

“I expect the team to perform well. As a center back, I don’t want to concede any goals. I think the teams we are facing will be a good challenge for us. I can expect some physical soccer ahead,” Stefan Balan said.

Balan is a sophomore defender who started in every game this past season and has seen his role within the team increase since his freshman year.

The real fun kicks off when the team travels to Amherst to take on the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, shortly after the spring break on March 30th.

In last year’s contest, the Yellow Jackets put on an impressive display against the Minutemen. Then sophomore forward, Steven Hernandez scored the lone goal in a 3-1 loss. Although the game ended in a defeat, the effort depicted the mental toughness and determination of the team.

The second game comes around shortly after when the team travels to New Britain to take on the blue devils of Central Connecticut State University a week later.

CCSU will be seeking revenge as they dropped a close one at home almost a year ago.

The final score was 1-0 in a game which the Blue Devils felt they deserved better. The game is scheduled to kick off at 6pm on April 6^th.

After two consecutive weeks on the road, the Yellow Jackets return home for quadruple header. Both the men and women’s teams will partake in an all-day tournament the following week. The boys will play host to Bunker Hill Community College and Western New England University.

The spirit of the team is very high, and they will be seeking positive results in every game. The weather shouldn’t be a problem and should attract many spectators. The Yellow Jackets close out the spring season with a home fixture against the University of Hartford.

Junior midfielder and captain Jake Durham had this to say about the upcoming season.

“The expectations for the spring are to get back into the games and ready for the fall season — showing the hard work we have been doing during the off season.”

He also added that, “The teams we are facing are a good challenge for us, it’s always great to play Division 1 teams to see what level are at and to challenge ourselves.”