DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's soccer team will begin its 2017 season Friday morning when it faces Concordia College-Moorhead at Saints Field.
Where:
Saints Field – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Friday vs. Concordia – 10 a.m.
Sunday vs. Gustavus Adolphus – 2:30 p.m.
Live Video: http://www.csssaints.com/showcase
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/msoc
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSMensoccer
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/cssmensoccer
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/csssaints
St. Scholastica Saints
2016 Stats
2016 Record: 12-8-1, 8-0-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Season Outlook: The Saints will have a lot of new faces on this year's squad … CSS returns 43 percent of its offensive production from a year ago … However, included in those returners is 2016 leading scorer
Luke Buckton (Bath, England/Writhlington School) … Buckton had a team-high 11 goals and added nine assists last season, while being named First Team All-UMAC … He also led the conference with five game-winning goals … The next highest returning scorers are fellow junior
Darby Henderson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) and sophomore
Armin Bobaric (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) … Both players recorded 13 points with Henderson scoring five goals and Bobaric recording seven assists … Outside of those three, expect to see new faces in front two-thirds of the field … In the back line, the Saints welcome back two-year starter
Kyle Hewitt (Richmond Hill, Ontario/St. Theresa of Lisieux) … Hewitt was a Second Team All-UMAC choice a season ago and has played 42 games in his first two seasons … Joining Hewitt will be junior
Trygve Rennan (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS), who was an Honorable Mention All-UMAC selection last season … Rennan started 16 games in 2016 …
Ethan Kiffmeyer (Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS) played plenty of minutes of late in the year during his freshman season and was named the team's Most Improved Player … Finally, in goal will be senior
Sandy Davidson-Hunt (Kenora, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) … Davidson-Hunt missed the first 15 games of his junior season due to injury, but recorded a pair of shutouts upon his return and made 12 saves in the UMAC Tournament championship vs. UW-Superior and 10 more saves in the NCAA Division III Tournament matchup with the University of St. Thomas.
40th Season: The 2017 season will be the 40
th for the St. Scholastica Men's Soccer program … In 39 years, the Saints have an overall record of 446-269-53 … Three different coaches have won at least 100 games … On Homecoming weekend in October, the CSS Athletics Department will induct the school's first-ever men's soccer coach in
Kenny Harkins as well as the 1988 and 1989 NLCAA/NSCAA National Championship squads.
Coach Chastey: Head Coach
Barry Chastey enters his 13
th season guiding the CSS men's soccer program … Under his leadership the Saints have claimed 10 UMAC Regular Season and eight Tournament Championships … He enters the season 17 wins shy of 200 for his career.
NCAA Records: The Saints are unbeaten in their last 94 UMAC regular season games … That is the longest active streak in NCAA Men's Soccer across all divisions … The last loss came at the University of Minnesota Morris on October 3, 2009 … The last tie in league play was September 30, 2011 at Northwestern … If you include conference tournament games, the Saints are unbeaten in their last 110 games vs. UMAC opponents, also a NCAA record.
Season Openers at Home: Friday's contest will be the program's first season opener at Saints Field since the 2013 season when it fell to No. 2-ranked Loras College (Iowa) … CSS is 0-3 in its last three season openers at home with its last win coming over Hamline University in 2008.
Top 5 Games to Watch
9/10 – at Luther
The Norse are picked to finish second in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) and won last year's IIAC Tournament … The Norse are ranked No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
10/3 – vs. UW-Superior
The only regular season Bridge Battle meeting between the projected top two teams in the UMAC
10/8 – at St. Thomas
A rematch of last year's NCAA first round matchup … The Tommies advanced to the NCAA National semifinals last year and are projected to capture the MIAC again this season.
10/16 – vs. Carleton
The Saints have tied Carleton in each of the last two meetings at Saints Field.
10/22 at Loras
For the first time, the Saints will play a regular season game at perennial power Loras College (Iowa) … Loras is the preseason IIAC favorite.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. St. Scholastica - 63 points (7 First Place Votes)
2. Wisconsin-Superior - 58 points (2 First Place Votes)
3. Northwestern - 49 points
4. Martin Luther - 37 points
5. Minnesota Morris - 36 points
6. Crown - 32 points
7. North Central - 24 points
8. Bethany Lutheran - 16 points
9. Northland - 9 points
Upcoming Opponents
Concordia Cobbers
2016 Record: 6-11-1, 1-9-0 MIAC
The Cobbers return 13 players who have played a combined 196 games … Concordia won six games last season, its most since 2012 and earned wins over the UMAC's UW-Superior, Minnesota Morris and University of Northwestern … The Cobbers will be led by Honorable Mention All-MIAC performer Austin Peterson, as well as sophomore Sam Gess, who led the team with seven points last season … The Cobbers are picked to finish 10
th in the 11-team MIAC.
Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties
2016 Record: 7-9-1, 6-3-1 MIAC
The Gusties will be playing in their 50
th season as a program in 2017 … Gustavus returns All-MIAC performers Matt Murakami and Arthur Parens … Junior goalkeeper Matt Bateman also returns after finishing second in the MIAC with four shutouts and a .906 save percentage in Conference play last year … Gustavus, who fell in the MIAC Tournament quarterfinals last year, are projected to finish fourth in the league this season.
Series Records:
-Concordia Series tied 11-11-1
(Last Meeting: 2-1 CSS – 10/29/2016)
-Gustavus leads CSS 14-5-2
(Last Meeting: 4-1 CSS – 9/3/2016)
Series Histories: The Saints are 3-0-1 in their last four meetings with Concordia-Moorhead … Last year, CSS won on a Buckton goal in the 77
th minute to defeat the Cobbers 2-1 in the regular season finale /// St. Scholastica has won two straight over Gustavus Adolphus and four of the last six … CSS has never won three straight meetings over the Gusties … At the beginning of the 2016 season, CSS defeated Gustavus 4-1, marking the program's first-ever win in St. Peter … Bobaric had a goal and two assists in the victory.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will remain at home and will face Bethel University on Saints Field on Saturday, September 9, beginning at 2 p.m.
