STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern men's soccer team hits the pitch for the first time in 2019 as the Eagles begin preseason practice on Monday.

Under fourth-year head coach John Murphy, the Eagles were 15 minutes away from earning the program's first NCAA Championships berth in 2018. That has the current crop of Georgia Southern footballers extremely motivated for the upcoming season.

"I think the experience for us, although it was pretty tough to take, is going to be good for us in the long term," Georgia Southern senior defender and co-captain Gonzalo Talavera said. 

Eight of 11 starters from that Sun Belt Championship match were underclassmen, and overall Georgia Southern returns 15 players from last season's squad. An influx of newcomers, 15 in all, have Talavera and the Eagles excited about the upcoming season and what they need to get done as training begins.

"I think the team looks pretty strong for this year," Talavera said. "The most important thing in the beginning is getting fit, getting the team together and becoming a family because obviously we have a lot of new players. We want to get through training without any injuries and getting ready for what is to come."

Talavera and the Eagles will travel to Savannah on Monday for three days of training, utilizing not only the facilities at the Armstrong campus of Georgia Southern but also getting workouts in at Tybee Island. Fellow co-captain Justin Little, who has not missed a start in his previous three seasons for Georgia Southern on the back line, is excited to see the team begin the work towards taking that next step.

"Everybody gets to focus on preseason," Little said about the first few days of training in Savannah. "It's a good team bonding experience, and the beach is always nice to go to even though the workout's pretty tough. It benefits us in the long run."

Little is encouraged that the team's focus will be on completing the task it set out on last season - getting that Sun Belt Conference championship and a berth into the postseason.

"I think  we're just trying to start where we left off last year," Little said. "Every year has gotten better since I've been here. This year, we're hoping to win the final and go onto the NCAA tournament. That's just the mindset for everybody this year."

The Eagles will have an inter-squad scrimmage on Monday at the Armstrong Soccer Field, but the scheduled preseason comes quickly as Georgia Southern will travel to High Point on Saturday, August 17, for an exhibition contest just five days after opening training. 

Georgia Southern opens up the 2019 regular season on Friday, August 30, at the College of Charleston's Aaron Olitsky Tournament in Charleston, S.C., taking on UNC Wilmington. The home opener for the Eagles is Friday, Sept. 6, against Merrimack at 7 p.m. at Eagle Field. Season tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by going to GSEagles.com/tickets.