It was the University of The Bahamas men's soccer team's season-opener, but they looked like they were in mid-season form when they came away with the 0-0 draw against the Ave Maria University Gyrenes in Naples, Florida.
It was an evenly matched game that saw both teams show fight with the Mingoes attacking knocking on the door several times, but the home team kept the door shut.
Mingoes head coach, Alex Thompson, gave his thoughts on the draw.
"Our more experienced players did exactly what we expected them to do," Thompson said. "We have seven freshmen on the trip. Two of them started and they all played well. Not everyone got to get on the pitch today, but we were relatively happy with the result. It could have gone either way for both teams, but we'll take it."
The game saw the Mingoes' forward Stanley Grand Pierre with some great chances to break the tie. However, none of his shots got past the Gyrenes' goalkeeper.
Left back, Junior Kelly found the back of the net on a perfect placement to the top right of the goal in the second half. However, an offside was called and the goal was taken back.
There was a good chance in the 83rd minute when Mingoes' captain Ronaldo Green passed the ball into the penalty area, but no Mingoes player was able to capitalize on it.
Mingoes goalkeeper Joshua Dames finished the game with a clean sheet with some timely saves in the second half.
The game was nostalgic for Thompson who played against the Gyrenes as a player for the then College of The Bahamas.
"It's great that we didn't lose this time. In my playing career I never got a result against them, so it was great to get the clean sheet and it's a great facility, so can't complain about that either," Thompson said.
International play continues for the Mingoes with a clash against Millenia Atlantic University Macaws at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 17 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is a familiar team for the Mingoes and Thompson said they won't be fresh, and they will take a different approach to the next game when they look for the win.