TAHLEQUAH – The NSU RiverHawks Men's Soccer team will kick off the 2019 season this weekend with a pair of nonconference road matchups against Drury and Missouri S&T.

Live stats for both matches will be available on goriverhawksgo.com

First Touches
1. The RiverHawks are coming off a 2018 season that saw them reach the Central Region Championship to cap off a 15-3-1 season. They will turn to the senior leadership of Ben Watson, Austin Arnaud, Aaron Ugbah, Scott Adams, Cullen Graham, Josh Tatarian, Evans Wiggle, Thomas Salenbien and Andrew Galvan.
2. The RiverHawks were picked to finish second in the 2019 Great American Conference preseason poll, missing out on first place by two points. They also open the season ranked No. 22 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
3. The RiverHawks beat Drury last season by a convincing score of 5-0 but trail the all-time series 2-6. NSU narrowly lost to the Miners last year 1-0 and trail the series 2-6-1.
4. Drury will be looking to rebound from a dismal 2-12-3 2018 season. They were picked to finish 12th in the GLVC this season. They are returning sophomore Jamie O'Brien, who was an All-GLVC selection last season as a freshman. Head coach Ben Taylor is in his third season at the helm.
5. Missouri S&T finished last season with a 3-13 record and a five-match losing streak. Before facing NSU, they will host Ouachita Baptist on Thursday in their season opener. They are returning five seniors, including redshirt senior Nick Posey.
6. NSU Head Coach Rob Czlonka is in his ninth season as head coach of the RiverHawks. NSU has known a lot of success under Czlonka, having qualified four times for the NCAA Tournament, including two trips to the NCAA Elite 8 (2015, 2017) and two trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 (2014, 2018).

Up Next: The RiverHawks will open their home schedule on Sept. 11 when they host Midwestern State at DeLoache Field before heading to Oklahoma Christian on Sept. 14. They will open GAC play on Sept. 19 at Fort Hays State.