LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (3-5-2) at
UT TYLER (3-6-1)
Saturday, Oct. 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Citizens 1st Bank-Perkins Soccer Complex– Tyler, Texas
 
CHAPARRAL HEADERS

• Lubbock Christian has won two straight games, moving to the top of the LSC standings heading into Saturday's matchup against UT Tyler
• Senior forward Manu Nunez ranks third in the Lone Star Conference in shots with 27 and has put 16 of those on goal but is still looking for his first score
• Senior defender and team captain Geoffroy Letienne leads the team in time on the field with 877 minutes played. He also led the team in 2024 with 1452 minutes
• Connor Pettigrew notched his fourth shutout of the season on Wednesday, which was also the 11th of his career. He is now 11-13-7 in goal in college
• The Patriots are coming off three straight losses, including games against Dallas Baptist, West Texas A&M and Midwestern State

 
IN THEIR DEFENSE
Lubbock Christian notched its fourth shutout of the season on Wednesday and its second in the last three games. In all of 2024, they had just five shutouts. LCU is now allowing an average of just 0.90 goals per game, which is the second-best mark in the conference, behind only St. Mary's. Chap opponents are averaging just 12.1 shots per game and have put only 45 on goal for a shots on goal percentage of .372. Senior captain Geoffroy Letienne anchors the back line with a team-leading 877 minutes played.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Letienne was so good last week in the two games against St. Mary's and St. Edward's that the senior from Auxere, France, was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday. Letienne helped fuel an unbeaten week for the Chaparrals, including a shutout of LSC defending champion St. Mary's. Letienne, who played all 180 minutes over the two matches and leads LCU in minutes played this season, was crucial in two late stops to preserve a one-goal win over St. Edward's.
 
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
Jack Brassey scored just before halftime on Wednesday for the lone goal of the game and LCU's first goal on their home field this season. The Chaparrals struggled offensively for a long stretch earlier in the year, but broke through with three goals on Saturday against St. Edward's. Brassey also scored in that win, and is now the third LCU player with multiple goals this season, joining Kade McKinzie and Pedro Lucas. The Chaps are now averaging 1.0 goals on 14.5 shots per game. They have a shots on goal percentage of .395. Aron DePaula also scored Saturday against SEU for his first collegiate goal.
 
SHOOTING STARS
Despite their lack of major offensive success, LCU has been one of the best teams at creating offensive chances, taking 147 shots overall, which is the third-most in the conference. Eighteen of those came last Saturday against St. Edward's, marking the third-most the Chaps have had in a single game this year. Of the total, 58 have been on goal, which is the second-most in the LSC. They had a season-high 12 of those on Wednesday against TAMIU. Nunez and Pedro Lucas rank third and fourth in the conference in shots per game with 2.70 and 2.50, respectively.
 
LOOKING AT THE LONE STAR
With another win on Wednesday, Lubbock Christian remained tied atop the Lone Star Conference standings, now with seven points. West Texas A&M also has seven points after beating Oklahoma Christian 4-2, but there is a cluster of teams in the middle of the pack with four points. UT Tyler is the only team at 0-3, and St. Mary's and Texas A&M International are both also winless so far in league play.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
LCU is 2-2-1 in road games at the midway point of the season with wins at Adam . In 2024, the Chaps went 3-3-2 in road games. The last time they had more wins than losses in road games was the 2023 season, when they were 3-1-4. Their best season on the road was in 2013, when they went 6-2-0. UT Tyler plays at the Citizens 1st Bank-Perkins Soccer Complex, which features a natural grass playing surface and seating for 1,000 fans.
 
FRESH FACES
If you haven't seen the LCU men in action yet this season, you might not recognized a lot of the faces on the field. In both transfers and high school recruits,  Lubbock Christian added 19 new players. Seven of the players are transfers from other schools and 11 are fresh out of high school. Three players transferred from Division I schools and made a significant impact this season, including Joao Catafesta (New Hampshire), Pedro Lucas (Albany) and Augusto Militao (Missouri-Kansas City).
 
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS

• UT Tyler is averaging just 0.90 goals per game so far this season, which is the second-fewest in the LSC, ahead of only St. Mary's
• Kenny Jones is in his 24^th season at the helm of the Patriot program and is the only head coach the UTT men's soccer team has had in its existence
• Niclas Becker has received the majority of playing time in goal for the Patriots, posting a save percentage of .706
• Six different players have scored goals so far this season, including two apiece from Jenrique, Noe Coutino and Luan Rangel
• All three of UT Tyler's wins have come by just one goal, and two of them were by a score of 1-0

 
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD
- Be the 123^rd in Lubbock Christian program history (122-105-40)
- Be the 21^st under head coach Collin Cone (20-24-8)
- Be Cone's 50^th win as a collegiate head coach (49-55-24)
- Be the Chaps' sixth-ever win against UT Tyler since the all-time series began in 2019 (5-0-2)