TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The No. 21-ranked Northeastern State men's soccer team will be playing in a pair of home matches this weekend to begin the 2015 campaign. The RiverHawks are set to face Truman State at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 4. Northeastern State will then play Missouri University of Science and Technology at 1 p.m. on Sept. 6.
Missouri S&T will also face off with No. 14 Fort Hays State at 3 p.m. Sept. 4, and the Bullldogs will then meet the Tigers at 11 a.m. Sept. 6. All four matches will be contested at DeLoache Field.
Northeastern State is returning from a 2014 season that saw the side post a 16-3-2 overall record and an 11-0-1 mark in conference play. The team enters the season ranked No. 21 in the nation despite losing four of the top five scorers from last season. The team will look to sophomore
Justin Todd for scoring after his big freshman year. During the 2014 season, Todd played in 20 contests and started in seven of them. He was third on the team with six goals, and fourth on the team with 13 points. Junior
Jonathan Guzman should continue to make contributions this season after scoring four goals and adding one assist last year.
The team will also look for continued improvements out of sophomore
Trevor Reed, who played in 20 matches his freshman year and tallied two goals and two assists. The RiverHawks also bring back their third leading assister from last season in senior
Frank Garay. Northeastern State will continue to be strong between the posts with returning goalies
Jackson Biles and Eric Shepard. Last season, Biles racked up 59 saves with 0.77 goals against average. He also posted eight shutouts. The RiverHawks are slated to feature a backline of seniors
Chance Miller,
Eric Crawford,
Crosby Lee and
Paul Samia.
Who are the Bulldogs?Truman State is located in Kirksville, Missouri. Their teams compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The team went 5-11-1 last year and 4-10-1 within the GLVC. The team returns leading scorer Corey Nolte, who went (4g-2a=10p) last season. The Bulldogs are extremely young, with a roster consisting of 22 underclassmen.
Who are the Miners?The Missouri University of Science and Technology is located in Rolla, Missouri. The team also competes in the GLVC. The Miners finished 8-8-2 last season and 7-6-2 in conference play. The team returns its leading scorer in Eduardo Abichabki (4g-5a=13p) as well as starting goalkeeper James Holloway. Last season, Holloway started in 16 games and recorded a 1.05 goals against average, 74 saves and seven shutouts.
