vs. Marian (Aug. 25 - 4pm): Live Stats I Game Notes
at Evansville (Aug. 28 - 6pm): Game Notes

INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI men's soccer team will open its regular season campaign, beginning on Thursday (Aug. 25) when the Jaguars host Marian University at 4:00 p.m. at the on-campus Carroll Stadium. Thursday's game will kick-off the Sid van Druenen-era of IUPUI soccer and will also kick-off a men's and women's doubleheader that evening. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) will describe the action and admission is free for Thursday's doubleheader. 

The Jaguars went 1-1 in the preseason with an impressive 2-0 win in the opener over SIUE before falling to Dayton on the road in the finale. Both Josemir Gomez and Gavin O'Shea tallied in the victory while junior midfielder Logan Finnegan earned assists on both scores. Lucas Morefield and Bryson Najarian both pitched clean halves in goal while freshman backs Pedro Arruda and Edgar Correia both had standout debuts. 

van Druenen's first squad will be heavily reliant on freshmen as four rookies were in the starting lineup for the exhibition at Dayton. In addition, two transfers - Medard Mikobi and Lukas Hackaa - were also among the starting unit. The Jaguars' first-year coach has used the preseason to take an extended look at his roster, using 22 total bodies in the exhibition finale. 

SVD Era
This marks the start of the Sid van Druenen era of IUPUI soccer as the Jaguars' leader coaches his first regular season games this week. van Druenen, who came to IUPUI from Wright State, took over the program last winter and coached the spring season. He piloted IUPUI to a 1-1 mark in the preseason with a victory over SIUE (2-0) and a loss at Dayton (0-7). 

Picked Tenth
IUPUI was picked to finish tenth in the #HLMSOC Preseason Polls, released on Wednesday (Aug. 24). Oakland collected the top spot and was followed in order by Cleveland State, Milwaukee and Wright State. The Jaguars were a distant tenth, falling 13 points behind both Green Bay and Purdue Fort Wayne as that pair tied for eighth. 

Three Back
IUPUI returns just three starters from last year's squad that went 3-12-1 overall and 2-8 in Horizon League play. That trio is junior midfielder Logan Finnegan (3 goals), senior midfielder Chris Workman (1 goal) and junior goalkeeper Lucas Morefield (1.51 GAA, .698 SV%). All total, 10 letterwinners from last year's squad are back this season. 

Newcomers
Given that only 10 letterwinners from last season return, SVD retooled the roster in the offseason and will rely heavily on a number of new faces. Two Jaguars redshirted last season due to injury (Josemir Gomez and Fernando Borges) and the program also brought in three transfers (Medard Mikobi [Xavier], Lukas Hackaa [Notre Dame College] and Bryson Najarian [Wright State]). The Jaguars' roster includes 12 true freshmen, many of who will be among the starting unit all season long. 

International Flavor
The IUPUI roster has some international flair this season with student-athletes from Brazil (Pedro Arruda), Portugal (Vasco Berardo and Edgar Correia) and Sweden (Lukas Hackaa). van Druenen, who went to school in Portugal and played professionally in the Netherlands and Portugal, can frequently be heard shouting instructions to his defenders in Portugese. 

12 on TV
IUPUI is slated for 11 games on ESPN+ this season and a 12th game scheduled to be broadcast on FLOSports (at Butler on Oct. 8).