Men’s Soccer opens Horizon League play Saturday in Indy

Saturday, September 9

Indianapolis, IN / Michael A. Carroll Stadium

3 PM

Wright State University

IUPUI

Photo by: Alex Underwood

Men’s Soccer opens Horizon League play Saturday in Indy

9/8/2023 12:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer

DAYTON — The Wright State men's soccer team kicks off its Horizon League schedule on Saturday afternoon at IUPUI in a rematch of last season's Horizon League tournament semifinal. The Raiders and Jaguars will get underway at 3 p.m. and fans can follow the action via live stats and watch on ESPN+.

MATCH INFORMATION
Saturday, September 9 – 3 p.m. – Watch - Live Stats

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI opened the season with a 3-1 win at home against Southern Indiana, but has only scored one other goal this season, coming Tuesday in a 1-1 draw at Eastern Illinois. The Jaguars allowed a combined nine goals in shutouts at Notre Dame and Dayton and enter the weekend 1-2-1. IUPUI finished with a 7-7-6 record during the 2022 season, going 4-2-3 in Horizon League play. The Jaguars' 2022 season ended with a 3-0 loss to Cleveland State in the Horizon League Championship game.

HISTORY VS. IUPUI
The Raiders still hold a large lead in the all-time series at 17-5-1 despite falling in the most recent matchup in last year's Horizon League tournament. The teams played to a 2-2 draw last September at Alumni Field in the regular season meeting, while IUPUI was a 1-0 winner in 2021 in the last meeting in Indianapolis.

LAST TIME OUT…
Wright State battled back to tie the score twice last Saturday on the way to a 3-3 draw against St. Francis (PA) in the Raiders' home opener at Alumni Field. Reece Allbaugh, Uche Odemena and Brock Pickett each found the back of the net in the first half for Wright State's goals.

REVISITING OUR LAST MEETING…
Wright State tallied a season-high 22 shots but could not find the back of the net, falling to No. 3 seed IUPUI 3-0 in the Horizon League Championship semifinals in Cleveland last December. Reece Allbaugh paced Wright State's season-best shot total with five, including four on goal, while Cole Werthmuller finished with four shots of his own.

I REMEMBER YOU!
Longtime Raider assistant Sid van Druenen is in his second season the head coach of the Jaguars, taking over in Indianapolis in February 2022 after being on the Wright State sidelines since 2017 and serving as the Raiders' top assistant from 2018-2021. IUPUI assistant coach Arturo Rodriguez moved west to Indianapolis with van Druenen ahead of last season after serving as a member of the Wright State coaching staff from 2019-2021.

PRESEASON POINTS
The Raiders got set for the season with a trio of exhibitions, traveling to face traditional power Indiana to cap the first week of preseason training (1-0 loss, 120 minutes) before home contests against Lake Erie (4-0 win, 105 minutes) and Thomas More (2-2 draw). Conner Osterholt recorded three of Wright State's six total goals, while Charlie Carpenter, Pete Schneider and Cole Werthmuller also all found the back of the net in exhibition action.

PRESEASON POLL
For the second straight fall, the Raiders were picked fourth in the Horizon League preseason coaches poll, announced August 23. Wright State tallied 60 total points in the poll, which the league's 10 head coaches voted on.

PATROLLING THE SIDELINES
Alex Van der Sluijs was named the 11th head coach in Wright State men's soccer program history in April after serving as an assistant coach with the program since last fall. Prior to joining the Raiders, Van der Sluijs had a four-season stint as the head men's soccer coach at Wilmington College, guiding the Fightin' Quakers to four consecutive winning seasons and being named the 2021 OAC Coach of the Year.

Assistant coach Chris Garcia is also a new face on the sidelines, joining the Raiders after a four-year stint as head coach at Saint Elizabeth University and having played collegiately at Seton Hall.

NEXT UP
Following the matchup at IUPUI, Wright State stays out on the road and heads back into non-conference play with a trip to Eastern Illinois next Tuesday. Match time is set for 4 p.m. and the contest is expected to be streamed on ESPN+.