The Waynesburg University men’s soccer team began Presidents’ Athletic Conference play Friday, Sept. 30, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, with a 2-0 win over St. Vincent.

It didn’t take long for the Yellow Jackets to draw first blood. Just one minute and 33 seconds in, sophomore midfielder Justin Buebrel took a cross from junior defender Tyler Sisler and put it in the net to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead.

Waynesburg added on towards the end of the first half when junior forward Austin Zurik scored his second goal in as many games off a corner kick, assisted by fellow junior forward Matt Hlasnick.

For head coach Brad Heethuis, Friday’s win was a solid all-around effort.

“I was pretty pleased with our performance,” Heethuis said. “I thought all 23 guys did a really good job, and it was a real team effort. …It was good to put a couple in the back of the net, and [we] also played well defensively.”

On defense, Waynesburg only allowed one shot on goal, outshooting the Bearcats 10-1 in shots on net and 24-7 overall. Heethuis said that it was important for the back line to step up in the conference opener and to “set a tone” for the rest of the year, and also credited time of possession as a reason for the success.

“Really, all 11 guys on the field did well defensively, and really buckled down when we had to,” Heethuis said. “But then I think what [goes with it] is, when we possess the ball and keep it, we don’t have play defense. So I think those two things kind of go hand-in-hand…”

As a substitute, Zurik now has goals in back-to-back games after not scoring in the first seven contests. Heethuis said that Zurik making the most of his chances is key to his success.

“He’s just finishing,” Heethuis said. “He’s getting his opportunities in front of goal… he’s been in that position now a number of games. Didn’t finish to start the year, but has now kind of fine-tuned some things. We’ve worked on a lot of shooting and finishing as a team in practices, and so just being able to tighten things up a little bit and just put the ball on frame [is important]. He’s scored two big goals for us the last two games.”

Although Heethuis still sees room for improvement, he feels that his team is taking steps in the right direction as the season moves along.

“It certainly hasn’t been perfect yet for 90 minutes, but we’ve progressed to where [we play well],” Heethuis said. “It really starts with our center [midfielders]. If we can find our center-mids and let them distribute and kind of dictate play, good things are going to happen. We did a pretty good job of that the past couple games, and that’s where we need to continue going forward.”

With their second straight win, the Jackets improved to 3-4-2 on the season, while the Bearcats fell to 3-7-1.

Waynesburg will look to start conference play Tuesday, Oct. 3, wins when it hosts Westminster (5-4-1) at John F. Wiley Stadium. Start time is at 8 p.m.