Men's soccer kicked off the fall season with a friendly exhibition match with Illinois Wesleyan University Sunday.
The 0-1 loss to the Titans was the Tigers' last match before entering regular season play next weekend.
"The first 15 to 20 minutes, I felt we were out of sync," said head coach Brad Hauter. "I feel like they had thousands of thoughts in their heads at the start of the game, though we eventually started to pick it up and start creating good scoring chances and possessions."
The exhibition was played in an unusual timing format: a 45-minute period, followed by two 30-minute periods.
"For the first 45 minutes, both teams played their starters, and we were even at the end of that period," Hauter said. "Then during the two 30-minute periods we started toying with our lineup, and they set up a beautiful finish to gain the lead."
Senior forward Sam Meyer agreed with Hauter about the team's performance.
"I feel like we came out slow, and we were getting used to the new style of play," Meyer said. "But I feel like we started getting used to the play, and we picked it up towards the end of the period."
Although the match ended in a loss, Hauter said the best way to get prepared for next weekend is to get game experience.
"Games are the best teacher," Hauter said. "Getting used to the style of play and learning in a game action setting really is beneficial to learning."
The Tigers will open regular season play next weekend against the Millikin University Big Blue.
"We are hoping to start getting early goals to put the team away early," Meyer said. "It's one of the things we would like to accomplish this weekend."
The Tigers take on the Big Blue at 2 p.m. Saturday on Boswell Field.