CLEVELAND, Mississippi – The Delta State University men's soccer team is set to begin their 2017 campaign on Thursday, Aug. 31 when it travels to Jackson, Miss. to take on a pair of Sunshine State Conference foes in Barry University and Nova Southeastern University. The Statesmen are scheduled to play Barry at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday on the campus of Jackson Academy, and square off against Nova Southeastern on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 11:00 a.m. at the same venue.
INSIDE THE SERIES:
- DSU and Barry will face off for the first time in program history.
- DSU carries an 0-1 record all-time against Nova Southeastern, having fallen to the Sharks on Sept. 4, 2005.
2016 AT A GLANCE:
The Statesmen went 5-11-1 last season under the direction of head coach
Andy Robertson. The Statesmen won two of their first three games, winning the season opener 5-1 against Embry Riddle and then defeating Auburn University Montgomery 5-0. The Statesmen knocked off Spring Hill College 2-1 in Gulf South Conference play, and also beat Ouachita Baptist (1-0) and Concordia College (Ala.) (3-0). The Statesmen also drew against Lee University (Tenn.) 1-1.
RETURNING PLAYERS:
The Green-and-White return a large portion of last year's roster. The Statesmen return 14 players who saw time on the pitch in 2016, including two of DSU's top goal scorers from last year in sophomore
Zachary Breaux (3) and senior captain
Ashley Walker (3). Senior captain
Jake Carragher also returns as an integral part of the Statesmen midfield, having logged 883 minutes last season.
Top assist man
Peyton Marter (3) also returns for Delta State, along with sophomore goalkeeper
Harvey Stevens, who logged more than 356 minutes in goal and posted a 2-2 record last season before an injury forced him to the sidelines. Senior
Pedro Ariza returns to help anchor the Statesmen defense. Ariza started all but one game for DSU last season and logged the second most minutes on the team with over 1,400 minutes on the field. Senior
Brock Hollier (two goals last season) and sophomore
Juan Brito (one goal) will also be relied upon by head man
Andy Robertson
NEWCOMERS:
11 newcomers help fill out the roster including freshmen midfielders
Paul Simler and
Lewis McClure, who are expected to make an immediate impact in the midfield. Simler and
Tom Bar-Yosef, who did not play last season, were tabbed at top newcomers by the GSC.
ABOUT BARRY:
- Barry was picked to finish 5th in the preseason coaches poll in the SSC.
- The Bucs finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 10-6-0 and a 4-5-0 mark in the SSC.
- Barry returns 14 players from last year, including seven starters. The Bucs added three freshmen and nine transfers in the offseason.
- The Bucs are led by head coach Steve McCrath, who enters his 20th season with the program.
ABOUT NOVA SOUTHEASTERN:
- NSU was picked to finish 8th in the preseason coaches poll in the SSC.
- The Sharks finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 4-11-0 and a 2-7-0 mark in the SSC.
- NSU's top goal-scorer returns from a year ago, Bestun Mohammed, and Darwin Lom, who topped the Gulf South Conference in goals per game in 2016. The Sharks also return OT Bah, an NAIA All-American transfer from Tennessee Wesleyan.
- The Sharks are led by Matt Watts, who enters his second season at NSU. Watts also spent time at the helm of Delta State and Alabama-Huntsville's men's soccer teams.
UP NEXT:
The Statesmen will return home for the first home weekend of the season on September 8 and September 10, when they will play Harding University and Ouachita Baptist University. Both game times are set for 4 p.m.
