The Tusculum College men's soccer team will rely heavily on its newcomers when it opens the 2013 season on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at King University.

The Pioneers finished 7-8-3 overall for the second straight year and went 3-4-2 in the South Atlantic Conference in head coach Allen Vital's second season on the sidelines of his alma mater.

With just four starters returning and only nine players on the roster with previous experience in the program, Vital will need to blend the newcomers with the veterans to produce a squad that aims to make a run at the upper half of the expanded conference. The Pioneers were picked sixth in the preseason coaches' poll after finishing tied for seventh in the conference last year.

The addition of Queens (N.C.) and Coker gives the SAC a 12-team setup, resulting in an expansion from nine conference games to 11. Five non-conference matches round out the Pioneers' slate of 16 regular-season contests.

The Pioneers go into the season with a pair of preseason All-SAC selections in junior midfielder Roberto Pimentel and junior defender Matias Rubio.

Pimentel (Campinas, Brazil) shared the team lead last season with four goals. He appeared in all 18 matches and was third on the team with nine points and 25 shots. Rubio (Bradenton, Fla.), an All-Region pick as a freshman, was limited to 14 matches last year due to injury but helped the Pioneers record five shutouts while on the field.

Junior forward Cody Kammerzell (Hendersonville, Tenn.) scored three goals and added an assist for seven points last season, good for fourth on the team. The Station Camp High School product appeared in 16 matches for the Pioneers, making 12 starts, during his sophomore season.

Sophomore forward Pablo Laguna (Zaragosa, Spain) saw the field in 14 matches last year and contributed a goal in a 4-1 win over Shorter on Sept. 9. Despite playing in just over a quarter of the team's minutes, Laguna was tied for sixth on the team in shots on goal.

Joining Rubio on a veteran defense is junior Adam Kulbat (Blaxland, Australia) along with senior Drayson Davenport (Acworth, Ga.). Kulbat made 14 appearances a year ago, making 13 starts, and was an anchor in the back for the Pioneers. Davenport appeared in 12 contests and made five starts toward the end of the season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Victor Ohlin (Angelholm, Sweden) saw experience late last season and responded with a 2-2-1 record and a 1.74 goals against average. Ohlin had a .744 save percentage and recorded his first shutout in a 0-0 draw with NCAA Tournament participant Wingate on Oct. 27.

Newcomers up front include freshmen Jonathan Spicher (Lindlar, Germany) and Jose Maria Talegon (Seville, Spain), while fellow rookies Kyle Dickson (Glasgow, Scotland), Mark Patterson (Belfast, Northern Island) and Andres Vargas will be joined in the midfield by sophomore Guillem Giro (Barcelona, Spain) and junior Jose Cordova (Le Ceiba, Honduras).

In the back, a deep freshman class features Guillermo Lazcano (Aviles, Spain), Mason Ballinger (Lenoir City, Tenn.) and George Hempenstell (Mars Hill, N.C.) along with Juan Avendano (Asturias, Spain) and Ricardo Da Silva (Leiria, Portugal).

Ohlin will team up with senior Trevor Lund (Hebron, Conn.) and freshman Ashley Elsey (Swansea, Wales) in goal for the Pioneers.

Tusculum opens its SAC schedule on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at league newcomer Queens, and will play its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. against Francis Marion at Pioneer Field.