Demorest, GA - After a season that saw just six wins for Piedmont men's soccer Coach Jimmy Stephens and his Lions, the veteran leader knew he and his coaching staff had to recruit impact players in this year's incoming class.  What he did not know is he would bring 15 newcomers that could include some of the best potential talent his program has seen come in during his tenure including a pair of international students and a Division II transfer.  

However, now entering his 10th season as the leader of the Green and Gold and his 15th season coaching in college overall, Stephens knows that potential is one thing, but it takes more than talent to get it done come gameday.  And being a veteran himself, Stephens is looking forward to his returning experience as well with none other than prominent goal scorer Vincent "Slim" Thomas back for a senior season with the Lions.  

"It's nice to have 'Slim' back, the nice thing for us is that he was our leading goal scorer last season," said Stephens of Thomas' return. "The tough thing he's had to adjust to is that last year he was pretty much our only goal scorer, and so he's having to make adjustments now that we have three or four kids who can help him out so he doesn't have to take the team on his back from an offensive standpoint."

Thomas scored nine of the team's 13 goals from last season to be the 2nd leading scorer in the USA South last season, but should get some help from a few youngsters this season like international newcomer Matthew Metzger whose father has ties to the New Zealand national team program back home. Metzger played this past spring for the Lions' tennis team being named the USA South's Rookie of the Year for his play on the courts under coaching legend Shane Wood, but now will trade his sneakers for cleats to suit up this fall for Stephens.

Metzger joins a bevy of incoming players expected to fill big roles right away along with freshmen Kofi Bates and Chase Kane.  Both come in with accolades abound from their high school days, but now will step up to the collegiate level with expectations to contribute, something which Stephens believes was a necessary goal in this year's recruiting class in order to rectify the team's offensive challenges from 2013.

"We had to do that, we won six games last year and we were in a situation where we were trying to bring in kids who can contribute right away," said Stephens of his large incoming class. "From an offensive stand point, we've brought in Chase Kane, we expect him to be able to score goals right away and has the potential to contribute in a big role."

Despite the offensive struggles, the defensive side of the ball should be in good hands with now a two-year starter returning between the posts in junior goalkeeper Kenneth Hearn while veteran defender Connor Lockridge also comes back for another season.  Stephens is also looking forward to a younger face starting to emerge in the back four as sophomore Chris Keller comes back after a debut season that included ten starts, the most of any freshman in 2013.

"We talk with him (Keller) a lot about communicating since he sees the field real well and we're really excited about him," stated Stephens when asked about Keller's development as a player. "He's a great kid, does well in the classroom.  We were fortunate to get him here...And I think he's going to play a big part as long as he can stay healthy."

Despite his good feeling about the hands of Kenny Hearn and his now veteran defensive players, the unknowns of the younger players is something that Stephens believes will cause a little bit of trouble in the season opener for both teams.  

Also bringing in a large class like the Lions, Marietta College figures to have their own miscues to clean up when the Pioneers host PC on Saturday afternoon rematching Stephens, a former leader of the Lady Lion soccer program as well, against Marietta Head Coach Joe Bergin, who was formerly the women's coach at GSAC member Agnes Scott.  Now nearly seven years since the two last faced off while both coaching on the women's side of the game, Stephens and Bergin will once again share the sideline, this time with both their men's squads facing off.

"It's going to be tough for us because we don't know anything about his team really," said Stephens about the team his Lions play this weekend to open 2014. "We're similar in the fact that he has a ton of freshmen, and we have a team of freshmen, so it's going to be interesting as neither one of us really has a clue what the other will look like since both teams are brand new." 

The Lions will kick off this coming Saturday, August 30th facing Marietta College in a 3:00 pm kick off with live stats provided by the Marietta Sports Information Department.  Two weeks later, the Lions will play their first home contest of the season with a Saturday afternoon match against Trinity Baptist which will be carried live on the Mane Event Broadcasting Network.