Demorest, GA -- The pieces are still coming together for the 2011 Piedmont College men's soccer team after completing their first two weeks of preseason practice says Head Coach Jimmy Stephens. However, as a coach who has guided his team to five Great South Athletic Conference championship games in six years at the helm, Stephens knows the time when his team needs to be peaking performance wise.

“Right now we're just taking it one day at a time as the boys really try to get their feet under them during preseason,” said Stephens of how his team is starting to come together. “We've had really strong starts before, but for us, it's really more about how we finish the year than how we start.”

Stephens' comments should come as no surprise as the 2010 Lions won three of their final five games last year outscoring their opposition 10-3 in those three victories including a thrilling overtime win against LaGrange in front of a packed house at the newly renovated Walker Athletic Complex.

Returning pieces and fresh faces should allow Coach Stephens' group to reach that point towards the end of the year as top scorer and senior leader Nick Weatherby returns for his finale on the Walker turf. The Grayson native's junior season included 13 goals, 12 assists, and 38 total points – all of which lead the team in those categories.  However, he thinks that his senior season may have a leg up due to some additional factors added to the 2011 season.

"Preseason has gone really well because everyone came in fit so we were able to move our focus away from the fitness side of things and work on improving our game as a team," said Weatherby of his team's good showing so far. "Offensively, we'll have a different look as some freshmen are already starting to have an impact, but the great part about our team this season is the depth.  We'll be able to bring in talent off the bench to help our starters continue to keep the level of play high."

It seems that the squad is having no trouble so far putting the ball in the back of the net tallying nine goals in a pair of preseason scrimmages winning 5-1 and 4-2 over a pair of Georgia club teams. It's been the Lions' presence on the flank and on set pieces that have spurred the squad on to victory, but Piedmont's improvement in the run of play was what Stephens continued to focus on.

“We're continuing to try and highlight how well we are playing rather than just focusing on the result,” said Stephens of his team's fast start. “I think it's been really nice to see the young players fitting in well with the veterans throughout preseason. It was great to get our guys out on the field in a game-like setting, but we need to keep working hard to continue having success.”

Despite having a knack for scoring goals, the men's soccer program has also been known to produce quite a goalkeeper or two and returning senior Brian Gaid is no exception to that rule. The 2010 GSAC championship tournament MVP will be the leader of a backline that returns several sophomore and junior starters, a factor that Gaid believes will be a key to the success of the 2011 team.

“I'm looking forward to seeing some of the moves we've made in the back as Miles (Flynn) moves in the center to help control an experienced group,” said Gaid of his returning centerback. “He did really well as a freshman last year in the center of the defense, and will be a great leader for us despite his youth. We also have more depth with newcomers like Hares (Husseini) and Connor (Lockridge) who played club ball with Miles, so that chemistry should come rather quickly to our back four.”

With a pair of preseason exhibitions now under their belt, the Lions plan to officially open the season with a 2:00 afternoon game against Berry College in the Inaugural Piedmont College Fall Invitational on September 3rd. The Vikings finished the 2010 season 15-1-1 and carry a 15 game unbeaten streak into the season opening contest.