There’s no question that 2018 was a tough season for the Salisbury boys’ soccer team after missing the postseason and finishing with a 5-12-1 record (4-8 in Colonial League).

But the good news is that head coach Mark Allinson returns a lot of experience for the upcoming fall season. Early on, the Falcons have been much more positive and upbeat than in the past, and he hopes that translates into more wins on the pitch and a trip back to postseason soccer.

“A majority of our varsity team has multiple years of experience,” Allinson said. “They have been improving as they have matured as a team. To date, they have been positive and upbeat about their chances this season.”

The Falcons have graduated a number of key pieces from last fall that include forward Prince Radande (five goals, two assists), defender Angel DeAnda and midfielder Diego Luna Rivera.

Salisbury’s top-goal scorer is back looking to lead the Falcons. Junior forward Andre Fernandes scored 10 goals last fall and added two assists. Senior Nico Jones and sophomore Nick Amado (four goals, three assists) are back as well, providing depth in the midfield.

Still, with injuries piling up throughout practice, it’s been tough to form much chemistry as the season draws closer. It was seen in last week’s scrimmage against Blue Mountain despite a 4-3 win.

“We practice with what we’ve had,” Allinson said. “We’ve had some vacations. We’ve had some injuries. It’s a tough go trying to get 22 players to do any type of field work in terms of scrimmages. And it shows in scrimmages. We’re hurting for some JV bodies right now, but hopefully we get healed up and get these people back from vacations.”

Allinson was usually working with about 18 players during the first couple weeks of practice. One that has been there and will provide more experience is junior goalkeeper Baxter Reihman.

Reihman is the focal point of a defense that will look a bit different this season.

“We’re working on a new formation defensively, so we’re changing that up a little bit,” Allinson said. “We’ll see what we can do and we’ll get a good test against Liberty in our next scrimmage.”

Freshman midfielder Noah Kichline is a newcomer that Allinson expects to make an impact as Salisbury looks to climb back into the Colonial League’s top teams. It will be difficult, however, with a tough schedule in the upcoming months.

“Our strength of schedule remains the same and forbids any mental game-time letdowns,” Allinson said. “We play seven of eight District 11 finalists this season.”