For Kiley Cirrilo men’s head soccer coach, last year’s five-win season means setting goals for this year’s squad.

“We’ve got to win six games,” Cirillo said. “The last three years have been spent building our foundation, and now we are ready to start building walls.”

Cirrilo fields a team that returns 14 players with game experience The Lions lost starters Patrick Hill and JP West to graduation.

“All 27 players deserve to be on the team,” he said.

The Lions are following a specific code this season: accountability.

“There is cohesion between the players this year,” Cirrilo said. “They are accountable to each other on and off the field. Also, we are not compromising the small things, such as sitting together in class and eating meals together.”

While the Lions were picked fourth in the pre-season Southwest Soccer Conference rankings, Cirrilo said he agrees with that assessment.

“We deserve to be fourth,” he said. “Playing in a smaller conference is a give and take.”

The season began with a tough test for the Lions as they fell 5-0 to Christian Brothers University. The game was stopped in the 74th minute due to lightning. Taking the new accountability code to heart, Cirrilo took the blame.

“I just didn’t do my job,” he said. “The coach is to prepare his players and we just weren’t prepared.”

Sophomore midfielder Austin Whiles sees the Lions trending upward.

“Time will tell,” said Whiles. “We need to bond as a team. After some organization, we will be at the top of the pack.”

The Lions tied St. Mary’s University in a double-overtime match. Senior goalkeeper Travis Haight had 12 saves.

The Lions take to the pitch at 5 p.m. tonight in an away match at the University of Missouri-Rolla. The Lions will also face Midwestern (Texas) State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, before returning home Sept. 12 to face Avila University.

Cirrilo said fan support is an important component in the team’s success this season.

“This is a fan based game,” he said. “The more people we have to support us, the cohesion of the community and the better we play.”