BY ANDREW PENACHO // SEPT. 23, 2016 //

The Colonels are left with their hands on their head, as they’re wondering how they opened the season 3-5-1 and in the middle of the pack in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

The recent 5-0 loss to Johnson & Wales (RI) is not the biggest problem for a team that has started on the wrong foot. Maybe the biggest problem for Curry’s men soccer team is that it has multiple issues to fix — and worse, where do they start?

In the nine-game sample so far, Curry has trailed in two-thirds of its games, with a 1-5 record to show. In the other third, when leading, the Colonels have a positive record of 2-0-1. They gave up their lead only once in those contests — en route to a tie against Wentworth on Sept. 17.

It’s easy to say, “Get an early lead and sit on it.” But it’s not that simple.

Curry has let up 10 of its 17 goals in the first half, with six of those coming before the 26 minute mark.

Curry also has to deal with the fact that, as of right now, not one player has distanced himself from the others on the stat sheet. Juniors Nat Swartz (forward) and Hunter Duval (midfielder) are the only ones to have multiple goals, yet they only have two apiece. Overall, the team’s shooting percentage is .089.

Now, there are some reasons for this lackluster start. Curry’s 29-man roster is littered with fresh faces. Eleven freshmen now occupy those spots, with just five seniors to look up to. This may be a problem now, but in a few years this will be a distant memory.

So if you’re an optimistic Colonels fan, keep the hope alive. As we all know, conference games make up the bulk of the season. And even with a 0-1-1 record in the CCC to date, they are still very much in it as they’re tied with three other teams for 6^th place.

That means this Saturday’s game at Nichols College is a must win, and for more than just the reason that it is a conference game.Curry has yet to gain momentum, and it knows that the big Mo is the only way a young, struggling team can make anything of a slow start to the season.