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VALPARAISO, Ind. - The IUPUI men's soccer team will kickoff the 2018 campaign on Friday night (Aug. 24) when the Jaguars take on Valparaiso University at 6:00 p.m. Eastern (5 Central) on ESPN+. Head coach Brian Barnett's squad is still rounding into form after preseason losses to Northern Illinois and reigning NCAA Division II national champion University of Charleston. 

More than anything, Barnett is hoping to regain some healthy bodies as the regular season nears after being limited to just six subs in the Charleston match. Fifteen different players earned a start in the preseason with Nick Anderson, Tommy Driscoll, Cameron Haegele, Tommy Patacca, Sean Siasia, Pedro Valladao and freshman goalkeeper Quinn McCallion having started both contests. McCallion was spelled by Michael Buck on both occasions as each recorded five saves apiece in goal. 

Valladao led the Jags with 150 minutes played in the preseason games while Patacca (141) and Haegele (140) were just off his pace. 

QUOTABLE
"I'm excited to see what this team can do this season and this is our first challenge," Siasia said of the Valpo game.

WHO'S BACK? - RETURNING STARTERS
MF - Alan Aguilar (2 assists)
D - Nick Anderson (17 starts, 1 assist)
GK - Michael Buck (1.68 GAA, 37 saves)
D - Sam Gavin (2 assists)
D - Tommy Patacca (1 goal)
MF - Cameron Petersen (8 starts)
F - Yan Souza (1 goal)
MF - Pedro Valladao (1 goal, 1 assist)

HEAD MAN
IUPUI head coach Brian Barnett begins year three of his rebuild of the Jaguars' men's soccer program. Recruiting has gone well as he has brought in 18 new faces over the past two seasons. Three of last year's starters were Barnett recruits, keyed by sophomore back Tommy Patacca and midfielder Cameron Petersen. This year's group of newcomers is led by Virginia Tech-transfer Rodrigo Zampieri and talented prep star Corey Goede. 

NOTABLE NEWCOMER
Rookie Riley Shives earned a start in the preseason finale against the University of Charleston, attempting a shot in his 65 minutes of work up top. Shives played 127 minutes in two preseason matches and comes to IUPUI as an elite scorer, having paced Carmel High School's offense as a senior in 2017. He led the Mid-State Conference in scoring in 2015 and was a two-time Indiana All-Star Team selection. 

ON THE SCOUT
Valpo went 8-9-1 last season and 2-4 in home matches. The Crusaders were paced offensively by Adan Garcia (9 goals, 4 assists) and Rafael Mentzingen (9 goals, 1 assist) and Nacho Miras (1.64 GAA, 61 saves) played the bulk of the team's minutes in goal. All three return this season as head coach Mike Avery's roster boasts 20 upperclassmen and 10 seniors. Last year, VU tallied 30 goals and yielded 30 goals last season while outshooting foes by seven total shots for the season. 

SERIES INFO
IUPUI is 7-16-1 all-time against Valpo, having dropped five straight to the Crusaders which includes last season's 1-0 loss at Carroll Stadium. The Jags last victory over Valpo was a 1-0 home win on Sept. 19, 2012 on Kyle Hyland's goal in the 10th minute. 

NATIONAL PROGRAMMING
Six of the Jaguars' home matches will be seen across ESPN platforms, beginning with the Sept. 8 Horizon League tilt with Detroit Mercy on ESPN3. The Jags will play six straight matches on a combination of ESPN3 and ESPN+ from Sept. 29-Oct. 20, including four home broadcasts. 

PICKED NINTH
IUPUI was recently picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League according to the preseason poll. UIC collected six of the nine possible first-place votes to earn the top spot. 

UP NEXT
IUPUI will host Bradley in the 2018 home opener at Michael A. Carroll on Friday, Aug. 31 at 5:00 p.m..