The 2016 college soccer season is officially underway. How are City’s collegiate players faring so far? Let’s take a look…
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE: The Cardinals are undefeated to start the season, beating Lewis, 2-1, on Sept. 1 and defeating St. Joseph’s (Ind.), 3-1, on Sept. 4. Against Lewis, Jordan Kalk (Sr.) scored the eventual game-winner late in the first half off an assist from Troy Watson (Sr.). Kalk also scored in SVSU’s victory over St. Joseph’s. Along with Watson and Kalk, Andrew Dalou (So.), Omar Sinclair (So.), and TJ Stephens (Sr.) started in both matches for the Cardinals. With his two goals in two matches, Kalk was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men’s soccer offensive player of the week for week one.
The Cardinals will look for their third win in a row when they visit Northwood for a tough road test on Sunday, September 11 at 3:30 p.m. Follow SVSU soccer on Twitter here.
UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: The University of Detroit Mercy Titans are off to a 0-2-2 start to the season, with their first five regular season matches being played on the road. After opening the regular season with a 0-0 draw at Pittsburgh, the Titans recorded a 3-1 loss at Marshall, a 1-1 draw at High Point on August 28, and, most recently, a 1-0 defeat at Elon on Sept. 4. Robbie Beckwell (R-Jr.) started every match between the pipes for UDM. Tyler Moorman (Sr.) scored a penalty-kick equalizer in UDM’s 1-1 draw against High Point.
The Titans will look to bounce back at Valpo on Saturday, September 10 at 3 p.m. before opening its regular season home campaign on Saturday, September 17 against Cleveland State. Kickoff for the Sept. 17th match is at 1 p.m. Follow UDM soccer on Twitter here.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Three draws in four matches leave Michigan 0-1-3 to start the season. The Wolverines are coming off a 2-2 draw to Yale at home on Labor Day. Billy Stevens (Jr.) tallied the assist on the go-ahead goal for Michigan. Stevens, Evan Louro (Jr.), and Brett Nason (Sr.) started in the Wolverines’ opening four matches.
UM opens its Big Ten account at Wisconsin on Friday, Sept. 9. Kickoff is 8 p.m. The Wolverines return home on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. against Indiana. Follow UM soccer on Twitter here.
MORE TEAMS TO WATCH:
University of South Carolina: After opening the regular season with two losses – a 2-1 loss to Clemson and a 3-2 OT loss to Mercer – the Gamecocks notched their first win again UCF on Sept. 4, a 2-1 victory that saw Danny Deakin (Sr.) tally his first goal of the year. Deakin recorded two assists in South Carolina’s OT loss, and he is tied for most points with four.
Next up, South Carolina faces a tough road test against Coastal Carolina on Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. Follow the Gamecocks soccer team on Twitter here.
Seattle Pacific: The Seattle Pacific Falcons are 0-1-1 to start the season. Cody Lang (Sr.) started between the pipes in Seattle Pacific’s 1-1 draw to Sonoma State on Sept. 1 and the Falcons’ 3-2 loss to Chico State on Sept. 3.
Lang and his team will open their home campaign on Thursday, Sept. 8 on 7 p.m. against Colorado Christian. Follow Seattle Pacific on Twitter here.
Albion: The Albion Brits are 1-1 to start the season. Bobby Budlong (Jr.) started in Albion’s first two matches – a 3-2 win at Grinnell on Sept. 3 and a 4-1 loss at Loras on Sept. 4.
Next, Albion hosts Ohio Northern Wilmington on Friday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. in its first home match of the season. Follow Albion soccer on Twitter here.
Adrian: Shayan Shushtari (Jr.) started in Adrian’s 6-0 thrashing of Bluffton on Sept. 1 and the Bulldogs’ 3-2 loss at Muskingum on Sept. 4. The Bulldogs are 1-1 to start the season and travel to Marietta, Ohio to face Marietta College on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. Follow Adrian men’s soccer here.
Gardner-Webb: Redshirt senior Ali Al-Gashamy was named the Big South Conference men’s soccer attacking player of the week for week one for his two-goal performance (including the game-winner) in Gardner-Webb’s 3-1 win over Davidson in the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ season opener. Al-Gashamy also converted a PK in Gardner-Webb’s 2-1 loss to Mercer on Sunday, Sept. 4. Now 1-2 on the season, the Bulldogs next face USC Upstate on the road on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. Follow Gardner-Webb soccer on Twitter here.
Xavier: Matt Nance (Jr.) started in all of the Xavier Musketeers’ matches so far this season. Xavier is 1-1-2, coming off consecutive 1-1 draws to No. 12 Virginia on Sept. 2 and to Dartmouth on Sept. 5. Next, the Musketeers host Cincinnati on Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Follow Xavier soccer on Twitter here.
Loyola University Chicago: The Ramblers are off to a hot start this season with a 3-0-0 record. Alec Lasinski (So.) has two goals in three matches, most recently tallying a goal in Loyola’s 3-0 victory over Albany (NY). He recored the opening goal in Loyola’s 3-2 win against Valpo, and scored in Loyola’s 2-0 upset over No. 15 Indiana. Next, Loyola faces Utah Valley for the NIU Adidas Invitational on Friday, Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. Follow the Ramblers on Twitter here.
Lawrence Tech: The LTU Blue Devils are 3-1 on the season. Tyler Winningham (Sr.) has three starts in three matches played. LTU is coming off a 3-1 win over Ohio Christian on Sept. 3. Next, the Blue Devils host University of Saint Francis in the Blue Devil Classic on Friday, Sept. 9 at 12 p.m. Follow LTU soccer on Twitter here.
Michigan State University: City head coach Ben Pirmann, City goalkeeping coach Bret Mollon and former City coach Cale Wassermann and the MSU Spartans are 2-1 to start the season. The Spartans are coming off a 2-1 Labor Day victory over Columbia. MSU opens the B1G campaign on Friday, Sept. 9 when it hosts Rutgers at 5 p.m. Follow MSU soccer on Twitter here.
