The 2021 Penn State Altoona men's soccer team posted its best start since 2007 and had its first winning season in five years. The 2021 squad netted 39 goals in just 17 matches.

"The team reached their goal," said Fraser Kershaw, who is a first-year head coach in the NCAA. "They poured their hearts and souls into the idea of reviving the Lion by fighting for the winning season."

For the first month, the Lions were continually ranked in the NCAA Division III as one of the top offenses in the country, putting themselves in various leaderboard positions, including in the goals and assists categories.

Kershaw said: "Knowing the majority of our team were first-year 18-year-old freshmen, everybody wanted to play us with their fifth-year pandemic seniors, and when we came out on top with the challenge of a lifetime, it was amazing to witness."

The players' accomplishments were impressive, given the roster. The starting eleven consisted of arguably the youngest men's team in the NCAA, which included nine freshmen and two juniors—all of whom are eligible to return for the 2022 NCAA season.

The 2021 Lions had a busy away schedule, which may have been to their advantage. The scrappy Lions earned a 9-8 win-loss record, making them eligible for the ECAC Tournament. Individual highlights accolades from the season included plenty of player hardware, such as two freshmen All-AMCC selections, three freshmen AMCC player of the week picks, two freshmen ECAC rookie of the month awards, and one freshman ECAC goalkeeper of the month pick.

Kershaw said: "The team was highly focused with an immense intensity that started in camp, and it somehow blasted us off from the beginning with high octane fuel, which carried us throughout the season. The players get all the credit and really banded together to form something special that I believe they will be proud of for the rest of their lives, as they revived the Lion."