Saturday’s Senior Day festivities for GW’s men’s soccer team were smaller than usual. The team had just two seniors, goalkeeper Matt Scheer and defender Dave Leon, so introductions did not take long and the ceremony was over relatively quickly. The two had little reason to think their upcoming match against St. Bonaventure would be their last – their team just needed to tie or win, and the only time GW had lost at home this season was to Loyola, the 23rd-ranked team in the country.

But the Colonials couldn’t manage a tie or win. They lost 2-1 to the Bonnies, ending the careers of Scheer and Leon. After the game, the two were once again the odd men out. The rest of team’s 25 players were upset, but they could look to next year, when the team’s young defense will have another year under its belt and the offense will be at least as explosive as this year. Scheer and Leon didn’t have that luxury.

Among the majority group whose collegiate career is ongoing, optimism shined through the disappointment, and players and coaches alike said they thought the loss will pay dividends next year.

“(The team) won’t forget this day forever, I know I won’t,” assistant coach Bryan Davis said. “And this will never happen again, at least with this group. It just won’t.”

The future looks bright for a team that started five freshmen Sunday and features one of the nation’s top strikers in Andy Stadler, who will be a senior next year. Stadler’s offensive counterpart Erik Perez-Segnini will also be back next year, maintaining the Colonials’ potent forward tandem.

“It’s a learning experience,” he said. “No loss is a good loss, but I think everyone is going to come back stronger from this,” he said.

GW’s three freshmen defenders Brice Carr, Ryan Ruffing and Jake Davis were thrown into the mix early this year and will benefit from the on-the-job training.

Davis said the group has “been talking about being a good team for a few years now,” but next year may be the team’s best chance to back up the talk on the field. The Colonials will have 10 seniors, none of whom have played a game in the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Whether they end up being as good as they expect is uncertain, but one thing is for sure: Good or bad, next year’s Senior Day will at least be more crowded.