Following the cancelation of the team's 2020 regular season due to COVID-19, Penn State Altoona men's soccer is set to return to full intercollegiate action for the first time since Fall 2019. This season will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the program.

Much has changed for the Lions since they last appeared in a regular season game. The team has a new head coach, as Fraser Kershaw was announced as taking over the position in January. Additionally, just two players out of the team's total of 21 remain from the 2019 season.

2021 will be a season of transition for the program, and Kershaw is excited for its future.

"This is my very first recruiting class for the team, and we have so much talent coming in," he said. "They must quickly find the balance of being both athletically fit and committed to the classroom."

Just two players on Penn State Altoona's roster, junior defender/midfielder Garrett Giedroc (Howard, PA/Bald Eagle) and sophomore defender Blake Johnston (Altoona, PA/Bellwood-Antis), saw action during the team's 2019 season. Giedroc appeared in 15 games in his first year with the team in 2019 and also competed during the Lions' exhibition schedule last spring, while Johnston started all 19 games for the Lions in his freshman season of 2019.

The Lions also welcome back three sophomores who had their first experience with the team in the spring, when the program competed in five exhibition dates: forward Dayebga Yanou (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire/Saint James School), forward/midfielder Bryce Goldstein (Glen Allen, VA/Deep Run), and midfielder Abdul Sattar (Mount Olive, NJ/Mount Olive).

After those five returners, the remaining 16 players on Penn State Altoona's roster will be entering their first seasons with the program. This group consists of junior defender and Penn State Brandywine transfer defender Nathaniel McCourt (West Chester, PA/Salesianum School), freshman forwards Grady Ballard (State College, PA/State College), Ciaran Corr (Newtown Square, PA/Marple Newtown), and Seth Conaway (Fallentimber, PA/Glendale), freshman forward/midfielder Chad Reighard (Altoona, PA/Altoona), freshman midfielders Awad Eltayeb (Khartoum, Sudan/Altoona), Damian Dangler (Warminster, PA/William Tennent), Mohammed Ahmed (Altoona, PA/Altoona), and Cameron McCarthy (Bloomsburg, PA/Bloomsburg), freshman defender/midfielders Benjamin Winfield (La Plata, MD/La Plata) and David Ogoh (Abuja, Nigeria/Cherryfield College), freshman defenders Bailey Musselman (Altoona, PA/Altoona), Owen Myers (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove), and Jonathan Hill (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove), and freshman goalkeepers Tommy Packevicz (Trumbull, CT/Christian Heritage) and Alexander Ferry (Warren, PA/Warren).

Corr and Packevicz were each highlighted as "Players to Watch" for the Lions this season in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's annual preseason poll, which saw Penn State Altoona predicted to finish seventh in the league standings this season.

"We may be one of the youngest teams in the NCAA, so wins will be big for us," said Kershaw "Each player has revealed their own unique marks on the rectangular table. If everybody on the roster dedicates time to true training, they will establish their own collective mark on the pitch together as a group."

Kershaw hopes that this season can be the beginning of a successful era for the Penn State Altoona men's soccer program.

"We are looking to revive the Lion. Lions are winning animals, and there is a standard to obtain for survival," Kershaw stated. "In the end, I hope our players make new memories and develop a work ethic that will last a lifetime."

Lions soccer starts its 2021 schedule on the road this Wednesday, September 1 at 7:30 p.m. at non-conference opponent Franciscan University.