ROLLA, Mo. – As is the norm in the highly competitive Great Lakes Valley Conference, Missouri S&T's 2013 men's soccer season came down to a one-goal game on the final night of the regular season – a game S&T won to land a spot in the conference tournament.

It was one of 11 games the Miners played during Gabe Hall's first season as head coach that was decided by one goal, including the opening round contest in the conference tournament that S&T lost at regular season champion Quincy, but the squad was victorious in six of those 11 games.  Knowing how tough the league is deep into the pack, Hall is hopeful that the 2014 version of the Miners can quickly learn how to ready to compete on a nightly basis in the GLVC when they open their season this weekend.

The Miners, who ended up going 8-8-2 overall and 7-6-2 in the GLVC a year ago, will host the GLVC-MIAA Classic Saturday and Sunday at Allgood-Bailey Stadium with games at 7:30 p.m. each night, opening with Southwest Baptist Saturday and facing NCAA Division II quarterfinalist Lindenwood in Sunday's finale.  Missouri-St. Louis is the fourth team in the event and will play at 5 p.m. on both evenings.

"We've learned a lot about this team to this point and I feel like we've had a very positive pre-season thus far," Hall said.  "We've continued to get better and better, which is all we can ask for at this point.

"When you graduate eight players who played significant minutes for you, there's always going to be a bit of a transition," Hall added.  "I'm really happy that as a staff, we did a good job of identifying players and bringing them in, while our returners have done a great job of making sure they're prepared and taking over some of those responsibilities.  With so many new guys, there are challenges in getting everyone on the same page, but I feel that things are going well and we're continuing to get more comfortable with each other."

One of those losses for the Miners came in goal, where Matt Jackson (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City West) wrapped up a solid career last fall by posting a 0.90 goals against average.  James Holloway (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Notre Dame Regional) made two starts in the nets for S&T during the year and will compete with redshirt freshman Mason Fannin (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) and incoming freshman Corey Jolitz (Sussex, Wis./Marquette University HS) for the spot this season.

"James got a little bit of experience last year and both he and Mason got a lot during the spring and pre-season," Hall said.  "Both of them bring different things to the table and it's been a good battle between the two for the starting spot.  I think it's a deep position for us and I'm excited to see how they are able to push each other."

Whoever plays in goal will have an experienced group of defenders working in front of him.  S&T will have two sophomores who earned a great deal of playing time last season as the center backs in Neil Wiaranowski (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) and Mitch Morris (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West), while senior Taylor Arens (Springfield, Mo./Catholic HS) and junior Ryan Lawhead (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) figure to get the bulk of the time as the wing defenders.

"I think we're in a really good position on the back line right now," Hall said.  "We have Taylor on the right side, who has a lot of experience, while Mitch and Neil really complement each other very well – Neil really takes command of what's going on and Mitch is a very calm, solid defender who is good in the air.  On the left hand side, we have Ryan who is a very good one-one-one defender, but I think his true strength is going to be what he brings in the attack."

Redshirt freshman Matt Kilwin (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) and newcomer Jared Pechette (Grand Blanc, Mich./Powers Catholic) could also see a good deal of action along the back line as well during the season.

In the midfield, the Miners have returners Kramer Hall (Liberty, Mo./Liberty HS) and Henning Schoene (Duisberg, Germany/Reinhard) as well as a host of newcomers who will be vying for spots in the lineup.  Transfers Martin Klevjer (Trondheim, Norway/) and Maxi Fuchs (Munich, Germany/), along with incoming freshman David Murphy (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) are among those in the mix for spots in the rotation.

"I think we have some quality in the midfield," Hall said. "Henning is playing in that holding role and has a great ability to not only pick up the ball and distribute, but is also a vocal leader for us in making sure people are doing their roles.  Henning and Kramer play off each other very well; Kramer is the one who can put others in position to do special things when he gets the ball."

Up front, the Miners return two of their top goal scorers from last season in Alex Reifschneider (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) and David Zdvorak (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill HS), who had four and three goals, respectively, while also returning veterans Bryce Phillips (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood HS) and Ben Emnett (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS) who had two goals each during the year.  Three newcomers to the program, Chris Zdvorak (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) – David's younger brother – along with Eduardo Abichabki (Sao Jose do Rio Pardo, Brazil/Colegio Unigrau) and Felipe Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/), also figure to have an impact on the front line.

"We're very excited about what we have up front," Hall said.  "Eduardo is a player who can play as a center forward or winger and is a technical player who is clever with his movement off the ball.  David is another one who when he is playing well is hard to handle; he's a strong player who holds the ball well and can fight through things to create chances.

"Chris, David's younger brother, has great movement off the ball and can become a dangerous player because of that.  We have returners in Bryce, Ben and Alex who all bring a little something different," Hall added.

Following this weekend's action, the Miners will open their GLVC schedule Sept. 12 at Wisconsin-Parkside.  The first home conference contest takes place a week later when S&T hosts Saint Joseph's;  the Miners will also host GLVC pre-season favorite Indianapolis and NCAA semifinalist Rockhurst during the course of the 2014 season.

"There's not an easy game in this league, because there's always something at stake," Hall said.  "Our job is to we bring in players and prepare our guys so that we can not only stay with them, but also push to earn a higher spot in the league.  Now, it's a case to get everyone clicking at the same time and if we can do, we're capable of competing with any team in this conference."