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One on One: Is the soccer team underachieving?

Yes

Don’t get me wrong, the men’s soccer team is good, but it sure would be nice to see the team play well at Shea Stadium.
So far this season, the Braves have played five games at home, producing only one victory.
For a team that was ranked during the preseason, I expected a bit more out of the former Elite-Eightists.
Its record as a whole is on the winning side, but producing just three goals for the home fans isn’t something to be proud of.
Maybe this team was over-ranked because of its performance last year, or maybe opposing teams bring their best games because of the Braves’ past success. Those factors can’t really ever be measured, but there is no doubt one of those has to be a huge influence.
The good thing is so far these games don’t really matter. Conference play hasn’t started and four of the Braves six conference games are at home. They have plenty of time to change my opinion.
Let’s hope the Braves end their season at Shea Stadium better than the New York Mets did for their last game at their Shea Stadium.
-Dru Tate

No

There is no way the soccer team is underachieving.
Last year’s Elite Eight team was fun to watch, but you can’t expect that every year.
After losing a lot of key players, including All-American Joe Donoho, the team is in a rebuilding mode.
I realize it doesn’t have a great record, but Saturday’s homecoming win  put Bradley above the .500 mark and back on pace to have a good year.
The Braves have a lot of guys who are banged up and  they have a lot of guys who haven’t been there before.
At any given time, you can find four or five freshmen on the field, and most of the time you will find it senior-less.
Not to take anything away from senior Brad Snook, but he alone cannot provide leadership for an entire team. It has to come from younger guys too.
The team is still learning where people fit in and who will step up throughout the season, and it is getting close with conference play coming up.
Any team that can maintain a winning record while losing as much as last year’s team  is not underachieving in my mind.
-Alex Mayster
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