HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll college men's soccer team plays host to the University of Lethbridge Thursday for the home opener of the 2015 season.
 
The Saints are 1-1-0 after falling to The Master's 2-1 last Thursday in a neutral site match in Salt Lake City before scoring a 1-0 victory over Westminster on their home field.
 
Carroll now faces a Lethbridge team that isn't altogether unfamiliar. The Saints and Pronghorns met in a spring exhibition match.  They battled to a 1-1 draw and Carroll head man Doug Mello knows that it won't be a walk in the park Wednesday.
 
"They have a strong group," Mello said. "Their forte is kind of a rough and tumble style. They like to get the ball forward. It should be a good contrasting style compared to us. We try to possess the ball and get wide. It should make for an interesting match-up and a fun game to watch."
 
The Saints look to improve the offensive output from the weekend where they missed on opportunities to score goals.
 
"We worked on shooting in pressure situations and moving the ball quickly," Mello said. "We spent a lot of time early on in practice working on fitness and the basics but now we have the opportunity to improve our finishing and building toward the team we want to be."
 
With a lot of room to grow Mello feels like his team is in position to make significant strides in year two.
 
"I know we are much improved but we are still trying to keep improving," Mello said. We have a good team chemistry which will help us as we strive to be better. Another key factor is our depth, we can go 5-6 off the bench and not see the level drop."
 
The first step is Wednesday and the Pronghorns. Mello knows how important it will become to maintain a strong home field advantage.
 
"We can't lose at home," Mello said. "We want to make it very difficult for anyone to come into our field and beat us, hopefully with the help of several hundred fans in the stands."
 
The game is slated for 4 p.m. at Nelson Stadium.