Oregon State Men’s Soccer opened its spring season with a win over Concordia at Reser Stadium on Thursday night, ending the game with a final score of 5-1.

The Beavers, who recorded an overall record of 11-6-3 in 2018, are preparing for their upcoming season in the fall.

According to OSU redshirt defender Kolade Salaudeen, the spring games are going to help the team implement all of the things they are working on in practice.

“I think these are games we should be dealing with really well,” Salaudeen said. “I have missed the feeling of being on the field because has been a long time. It was great to back out here with the boys.”

Although the spring matches do not affect the squad’s record, OSU Head Coach Terry Boss said the team takes their play very seriously, as these games not only prepare the guys for the Fall season, but also gives some players extra playing time and the opportunity to show that they can step in and impact the group.

“I think it was an excellent team performance, it felt good to be back on the field, it has felt like forever,” Boss said. “I think the guys responded really well, I thought their focus was good, I thought they took the game very seriously. We talked about, as a group, every time we step on the field, regardless of the opposition, we are competing against our own personal standard and I thought we did that tonight.”

In the fall of last year, the team developed a game model and look to apply it and even layer in new tactical information for the upcoming season, according to Boss. With the amount of teaching time the squad has before fall, Boss thinks that the spring season is the perfect time to build in new ideas, develop thoughts and continue to progress.

According to freshman forward Gloire Amanda, the team definitely has room for improvement, more specifically the tempo and intensity could be improved.

“I think it was a good effort from the whole squad, I think we showed everything we have been working towards since after winter break. Today is just the beginning of something big,” Amanda said. “I feels great to be back on the field, it feels fantastic.”

While these games are preparing the men’s team for the upcoming season, Amanda has been focusing on his play for spring in order to learn and get better for the next game.

“I think the fall is quite far ahead, so I just want to focus on the spring games and see how the group progresses and try to find balances,” Amanda said. “I’m just hoping for the squad to continue to get better.”

The Oregon State Men’s Soccer team will be playing their second match away against the University of Portland on April 20.

“We are not going to surprise teams. We want to play, we want dominate possession and so, we will continue to be adaptable in how we look to penetrate,” Boss said. “ I’m excited to see how the group continues to gel and build as we move forward in the spring.”