LUBBOCK, Texas - The Lubbock Christian University men's soccer team looks to bounce back as they welcome regional opponent Adams State to town Saturday afternoon.
Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. at the LCU Soccer & Track Complex and will be streamed live on
FloFC with Brennan Riker and
Lucas Carli on the call.
Senior Day:
The Chaps will recognize 12 seniors prior to kickoff of Saturday's match. Seniors
Connor Pettigrew,
Alejo Garcia,
Joseph Abraham,
Yannis Sapim,
Saimon Gjeci,
Nako Amare,
Aden Duncan,
Luke Suarez,
Seal Elad,
Nicolo Tocco,
Oluwaseun Babarinde, and
Uriel Santillan will be honored. Senior day festivities will begin at 2:30 p.m. with kickoff to follow.
Notes:
- The Chaps opened the 2024 season with a 5-0 loss to No. 21 Fort Lewis at home Thursday night. Connor Pettigrew recorded five saves in the loss for LCU.
- Head coach Collin Cone enters his 3rd season as the leader of the LCU program. He has tallied a record of 13-12-11 in his first 2 years at the helm and guided the Chaps to the LSC Tournament in 2022. Joining him on the sidelines are Jonathan Woods and Duvan Canchila.
- Nako Amare, Alejo Garcia, and Connor Pettigrew were named as Players to Watch by the Lone Star Conference on Aug. 26. Amare played in all 17 games a season ago, scoring two goals and dishing out three assists. Garcia started in 16 games as a defender in 2023. Pettigrew recorded a shutout in his lone start in goal last season (Sept. 2 vs Adams State).
- Lubbock Christian is coming off a 6-4-7 season in 2023, the most draws in a season in LCU program history. The Chaps return two of their top four point scorers from last season, including leading goal scorer Saimon Gjeci (six goals).
- LCU will feature 17 new players on the 2024 roster. Of those new players, six are true freshmen, while the other 11 are transfers from either junior colleges or other universities. It is a diverse group, with five players from Texas, two from England, two from Spain, and the rest from Italy, Japan, France, Brazil, and Italy internationally, along with new faces from Arizona, Florida, and Washington in the states.
- The Chaps were picked to finish sixth in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll.
- LCU has dominated the all-time series against the Grizzlies holding a perfect 6-0-0 record. In the six meetings LCU has outscored Adams State 14-2.
- The Chaps went on the road and secured a 1-0 victory over the Grizzlies last season. Connor Pettigrew made two saves for LCU in the win.
Scouting Adams State:
- Adams State opened the 2024 season with a 2-0 loss on the road against fellow LSC member Eastern New Mexico on Thursday night.
- The Grizzlies were picked to finish eleventh in the RMAC preseason poll, earning 14 points in the poll.
- In 2023, Adams State ended the year win less, going 0-16-0. The Grizzlies' last win came on Oct. 16, 2022, against Metropolitan State of Denver (3-1).
- The Grizzlies were outscored 56-7 last season and were shutout in nine matches, including seven of their last eight.
- Ranulfo Lopez returns as the offensive leader for ASU. He scored three goals and dished out one assist in 2023.
- The Grizzlies are coached by Justin Gilfert who enters his third season at the helm. He owns a 1-32-2 overall record at ASU.
A Win Would:
- Give LCU their first win of the season.
- Be the 14th win of the Coach Cone era.
- Give the Chaps their 115th win in program history.
