The men’s soccer team dropped their home opener on Tuesday to Siena 1-0 but showed promise on the pitch.

Vermont was able to dominate possession of the ball but couldn’t rebound from Siena’s game-changing play that sealed the loss.

“Overall I thought we had some good moments, but I still feel that we were too easily rattled,” head coach Jesse Cormier said.

The Cats had plenty of chances to strike early. In the seventh minute, junior Matt Hennessey delivered a corner kick through the box.

On the receiving end was redshirt sophomore Pat Alonis who blasted a darting header that just missed the left side of the goal.

Another chance came when recent junior transfer Juan Peralta had a slight breakaway but was stopped by the Siena goalkeeper who made a soaring save.

Though there were many chances, Peralta said the team couldn’t quite get on the same page.

“We didn’t play our game today, I think we have a lot of weapons and we can get it together,” Peralta said.

Cormier echoed similar sentiments.

“We really want to attack collectively, and I feel that we didn’t get to impose our style,” Cormier said.

Peralta, who transferred from Ulster County Community College, flashed his ability throughout the game, giving Vermont multiple scoring opportunities.

During the 58th minute, another scoring chance game for thejunior from the top of the box where he got a clear shot from about 25 yards out. The ball didn’t get the bend necessary and missed wide right.

The offensive opportunities were limited for the Cats for the duration of the game and it appeared that the team, though skilled, was indeed young.

“I don’t think we played as a unit today, we’re trying to improve in that. We have a lot of new guys, we’re just trying to get to know each other better.”

Siena scored the winning goal in the 65th minute on a well-executed play that was capped off by Joe Tavernese.

As hard as the Cats fought, the ball wouldn’t bounce their way.

“We have a lot of chemistry on the team but we need to work more on our attack and combinations going forward,” Peralta said.

Senior and captain TJ Gore said the team’s cohesion isn’t a problem and time will help team gel.

“We have a good set of guys its just going to take time to figure out everyone’s strengths and weaknesses,” Gore said. “But it’ll come.”

Cormier took the loss as a learning experience for the younger guys and knows how much potential the squad has.

“I think it’s a great lesson for us as a group and I think we’ll come back and be better from it,” Cormier said.

Gore let the younger players know that they will rebound from the game and they can only improve from here.

“I’ve been in this position before, we just have to take our lumps and bounce back,” Gore said.

The Cats let one get away from them but also displayed a plethora of young talent during the game. Along with newcomer Peralta, freshmen D.J. Elder, Dwayne Dove and Alassane Kane all saw the field and showed that they can have an impact.