Joe Luxbacher finds it hard to believe that he is entering his 21st season as the head coach… Joe Luxbacher finds it hard to believe that he is entering his 21st season as the head coach of the men’s soccer team.

“I’m enjoying coaching a bit more than I used to,” Luxbacher said, referring to the fact that when he started coaching, he was still physically capable of playing the game.

His 2004 team is fully capable of playing the game — and at a much higher level than last year. Pitt kicks the season off at Founders Field on Wednesday against non-conference foe Canisius at 5 p.m.

Pitt enters this season with a stronger focus on defense. Last year, Pitt lost eight games by one goal and ended the season with an overall record of 6-11-1.

Luxbacher plans to employ a different style of defense. He said that, this year, he’ll be playing people in different places. Stepping up to replace defenseman Clay Haflich, the lone senior to leave, is Jacob Kring. Kring was given the title of team captain after a strong 2003 season, where he started 15 of 18 games.

“The goalkeeper has got to be solid,” Luxbacher said.

And that’s exactly what he was last year. Junior goalkeeper Justin Lowery recorded a goals against average of 1.82 in his first full year of collegiate soccer. He started all 18 games last season after sitting behind All-Big East goalkeeper Justin Gaul in 2002. In his first year as a starter, Lowery recorded 88 saves and three shutouts, including a 1-0 win over ranked Big East foe Boston College.

Luxbacher plans to stress defense more so this year in order to give his offense a chance — an offense in which he is completely confident.

“I think we’re going to be a very good attacking team,” Luxbacher said.

And they should, with the addition of Dwayne Grant-Higgins, a standout forward who transferred from West Virginia. His nickname, “D-Rocket,” is very appropriate because he competed not only in soccer, but also in track and field as a Mountaineer. His speed is one of the key factors to his success. In his two seasons at West Virginia, he ranked second on the team in goals and points. He also notched a hat trick in his second collegiate game against Radford in 2001.

Also returning to the Panthers is junior forward Keeyan Young, who led the team in offense last year with six goals and three assists. He was just ahead of senior midfielder Billy Brush, who scored five goals.

Brian Madden, who scored a goal in preseason, is coming off his first year of Big East soccer and could make a big difference. Last year he recorded three assists and 16 shots. He started 13 of 16 games last season, and will make an impact for the Panthers yet again.

Although Pitt has new, talented players and most of the team returning, the Panthers still find themselves at the bottom of the preseason Big East poll. Pitt is slated to finish 12th in the conference, but that doesn’t matter much to Luxbacher and his team.

“It gets under your skin a little,” Luxbacher said, adding, “Our goal is to make the Big East Tournament.”

And the Panthers have a great chance to upset and shock the conference. Pitt will start their Big East schedule right away when they travel to Rutgers Friday for a 7 p.m. game.

The big match-ups to look out for are St. John’s, UConn and Notre Dame, all who are picked to finish first, second and third, respectively. UConn and Notre Dame are both road games and St. John’s will travel to Pitt on Oct. 23.