LUBBOCK, Texas - Following a 6-1 thrashing of Adams State, the LCU men's soccer team looks to keep the good times going, taking on Fort Lewis College on Saturday, Aug. 27.

Fort Lewis College (0-0-1) vs Lubbock Christian (1-0)
Saturday, Aug. 27 - 7 PM
LCU Soccer & Track Complex - Lubbock, Texas

Chap Headers
• Lubbock Christian opened the 2022 season with a 6-1 win over Adams State. Pablo Galietero Diez scored his first career hat trick and tallied an assist for seven total points, the second-most ever in a single game in program history.

• Jordan Jayapuram earned the assist on two goals by Galietero Diez, the first Chap since Ivan Muanze-Bengono to record two assists in a match. Muanze-Bengono tallied two assists on Nov. 9, 2021, against Texas Permian Basin.

• With his 19th career goal scored against Adams State, Tariq Bakkali ranks second all-time in goals scored. His 43 total points rank third all-time in program history. 

• The six goals tie the mark for most goals in a season opening match for LCU men's soccer. The Chaps defeated the University of the Southwest 6-1 on Sept. 5, 2013, to kick off the season.

A LOOK BACK
The 2021 Fall season was arguably one of the best in program history for the Lubbock Christian men's soccer team. The Chaps finished the season 6-1-1, outscoring their opponents 24-6 and recording six shutouts, including three straight in the Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament. After finishing the first two overtimes deadlocked at zero goals apiece, the Midwestern State Mustangs bested the Chaps for the third time in 2021, defeating LCU 5-4 on penalty kicks. The second-place finish is the highest finish in program history in the LSC, and the Chaps first ten-win season since 2013. The Chapparal offense averaged 2.17 goals per game while allowing just 1.22 goals per game, the second-best in the conference. Luciano Rodriguez finished fourth in the conference in points with 19 and sixth in the conference in goals with six.

FURTHER BACK
The Lubbock Christian men's soccer program began in 2010 with a 3-1 win against the University of the Southwest (N.M.). On Nov. 9, 2021 in the opening round of the LSC Tournament, the Chaps won their 100th match in program history, rolling over UT Permian Basin 6-0. The Chap program enters the 2022 season with an overall record of 101-81-23.

IN THE MOUNTAIN AIR
LCU has played ten games in program history within the state of Colorado, going 4-6-0 there all time. The first-ever Chaparral trip to the Centennial State was a successful one, as they beat Colorado Christian 5-1 behind a hat trick from Mbongeni Ndlovu on Sept. 11, 2015. They also beat Adams State 2-1 on that 2015 trip. Last season, LCU went 1-1 in the Centennial State, falling 3-1 to Fort Lewis in Durango, while defeating Adams State 3-0 in Alamosa. The Chaps will play four straight matches in Colorado from Sept. 1-9, facing MSU-Denver and South Dakota Mines in the Mile High City before facing UC-Colorado Springs and CSU-Pueblo on the road.

NEW YEAR, NEW TEAM
LCU will feature an astonishing 24 new players on the 2022 Fall roster. Of those new players, 12 are true freshmen, while the other 12 are transfers from either the junior college ranks or other universities. It is a diverse group, with seven players from Texas, four from England, four from Brazil, and the rest from Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Spain internationally, along with new faces from Oklahoma, Pennslyvania, and Wisconsin in the states.

PRESEASON POLL
For the first time since joining the Lone Star Conference, the Chaps earned a first-place vote in the preseason polls, slotted to finish fourth in the LSC this season. The last time the Chaps earned a first-place vote was prior to the 2014 season, when LCU earned four first-place votes and were predicted to finish second in the Heartland Conference.
 
THE CONE ERA HAS BEGUN
 - Collin Cone was hired as the Head Men's Soccer Coach at Lubbock Christian University in April of 2022, coming to LCU after leading the men's soccer team at LeTourneau University for the last four seasons. He posted back-to-back winning records in 2021 and the 2020-21 season, and had the team improve in every year he was the head coach. The YellowJackets 6-5 showing in the 2020-21 season was the program's first winning season since 2010.
- Cone also spent three years at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana. He played a key role in the recruiting efforts for the Lancers while working with the goalkeepers. In his final season at Grace, the Lancers won the Crossroads League Championship for the first time in 25 years and made it to the NAIA National Championship for the first time in 35 seasons. Cone's time at Grace as a coach was marked by one conference championship, one NAIA national championship, two NCCAA National Tournaments, and two regional tournament titles.


SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
- FLC checked in at No. 6 in the RMAC men's soccer preseason poll with 52 points.
- Fort Lewis finished the 2021 fall season with an 8-8-1 record and went 5-3-1 in the RMAC. The Skyhawks did pick up an upset win over #16 Colorado Mesa on Sept. 24, 2021, knocking off the Mavs 2-1.
- David Oberholtzer will begin his seventh season as the head men's soccer coach for the Skyhawks in the 2022 season. During his tenure, the Skyhawks have posted a 52-37-13 record and qualified for the RMAC Tournament in four of the past six seasons, advancing to the RMAC semi-finals in 2020, 2019 and 2017. Oberholtzer was also an assistant coach for the Hawks in 2009 and 2011 when FLC won the national championship
- Gabriel Legendre returns for his sophomore season after tying for the team lead in goals with seven last year. The Rio Rancho, N.M. native was named to the RMAC All-Honorable Mention team.
- The reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year Thomas Duenes also returns to Fort Lewis. Duenes scored seven goals last season and an assist for 15 total points in his first season.
- Fort Lewis enters the contest with an 0-0-1 record. A goal by Legendre in the 89th minute against Texas Permian Basin saved a 1-1 draw for the Skyhawks on the road on Thursday, Aug. 25.

THE SERIES WITH THE SKYHAWKS
The Chaps and the Skyhawks met for the first-time ever last season, with Fort Lewis taking a 3-1 victory in Durango, Colo. on Sept. 2, 2021. After a goal by Fernando Flores tied the game at one, goals by Milen Manchev and Matt Baldridge pushed FLC to the win.

A WIN WOULD - 
- Give LCU their first win over Fort Lewis
- Be the Chaps first 2-0 start since the 2021 spring season
- Be the Chaps 10th win all time at the LCU Soccer & Track Facility since it opened for the 2021 spring season

UP NEXT - 
The Chaps begin a four-game road trip in Denver, Colo., taking on MSU-Denver on Thursday, Sept. 1.