LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University men's soccer will seek a fast start to the 2022 season with a three-game road trip, starting at Ohio Dominican on August 25, followed by a neutral site game against No.15 Lake Erie on August 27 at ODU, and then wrap up at Cedarville on September 1. The Bearcats enter the year revamped with a multitude of returners and an 18-man signing class after finishing sixth, (8-5-4, 8-5-1) in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2021.
McKendree will be under the direction of head coach
Scott Gyllenborg, who enters his sixth season at the helm, and comes off of a fourth-straight season at .500-or-better with a trip to the GLVC Tournament. The Bearcats bring back experience with an All-GLVC defender in senior
Cole Gerstenberger, as well as senior defender
Hampus Filipsson, junior defenders
Matteo Schubert and
Michael Hodgson, and sophomore defender Cristoph Gruber. Up the field, McKendree returns sophomore midfielder
Philipp Schmidt, junior midfielder
Fetiol Hyke, senior midfielder
Karson Huels, sophomore forward
Findlay Cook, and senior forward
Tony Bodul.
In 2021, the Bearcats out-scored opponents 1.71 goals per game to 1.41, placed more shots on frame with 101 to 93, while earning more corners (98 to 76), which led them to another fourth-straight year at .500 or better since Gyllenborg took over (2017). On the offensive side, the Bearcats lost All-GLVC forward
James Stone, who fired off 10 goals and dished-out one assist, as well as
Gonzalo Correa, who was second on the team with five scores last year. Schmidt, a sophomore captain for the Bearcats, accumulated the most points of any returner last season with eight (1g/6a) while Cook and Hyke each collected five points (2g/1a) a piece.
The Bearcats fired off a three-game unbeaten streak to start last season, going 1-0-2, defeating Southern Indiana to open conference play on September 12 and drawing against ODU (9/5) and Ashland (9/3). McKendree built up a lengthy winning (9/26-10/15) with six-straight wins beginning via victory over UIS and and unbeaten streak (9/24-10/15) of seven contests behind a draw versus Quincy on September 24. The final regular season contest featured a 3-0 win over GLVC-foe Missouri-St. Louis, which helped the Bearcats lock-in their postseason bid to the conference tournament.
PREVIEW @ Ohio Dominican (8/25)
All-Time Record: 0-0-1
The Panthers and Bearcats will be the regular season opener for each team and is just the second matchup between the programs. The 2021 contest finished in a 2-2 draw after ODU fired an equalizer part way through the second half. McKendree held a 2-1 lead at the half following two scores in the first 15 minutes of action.
ODU went 11-7-3 last season, finishing third overall in the GMAC. The Panthers return top-scorers in Khalif Hassan and Shingai Nindi, who collected 13 goals and six assists between them in 2021.
PREVIEW versus #15 Lake Erie (N) (8/27)
All-Time Record: 0-0-0
Saturday's matchup will be the first contest between the Storm and Bearcats, as LEC comes off a GMAC title and an NCAA Sweet Sixteen run while ranking atop the 2022 GMAC preseason poll and 15th in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA DII preseason poll.
The Storm went 16-4-1 last year and take on No. 4 UIndy to begin their campaign on August 25. They return 2019 GMAC Freshman of the Year, who transferred to and from Robert Morris, Tom Akinola, and leading scorer Teddy Baker, who collected 24 points with nine goals and six assists a year ago.
PREVIEW @ Cedarville (9/1)
All-Time Record: 0-0-0
McKendree finishes off its season-opening road trip against the number two team in the GMAC in Cedarville on September 1. Cedarville finished second in its league last season with a 10-3-1 mark in the conference while going 14-5-1 overall. They made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history.
The Yellow Jackets bring back their number two and three scorers from the 2021 campaign in Jackson Isaacs (12p/5g/2a) and Andy Volk (10p/4g/2a). Prior to taking on the Bearcats, Cedarville will host Wheeling Jesuit on August 27 in Cedarville, Ohio.
ROAD TRIP SLATE:
8/25 | 5 P.M. ET | @ Ohio Dominican | Columbus, Ohio |
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Live Stats
8/27 | 12:30 PM ET | vs #15 Lake Erie (N) | Columbus, Ohio |
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9/1 | 5 PM ET | @ Cedarville | Cedarville, Ohio |
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