Upcoming in Gray Wolves Soccer: Lourdes will look to end a three-game losing skid as it plays its second and third consecutive games on the road. The Gray Wolves visit Mount Vernon Nazarene in the final non-conference contest of the season on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m., before kicking off the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference portion of the schedule with a road matchup at UM-Dearborn on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Head Coach Barry Spitzer: In his fourth season on the Lourdes bench,
Barry Spitzer has an 19-29-4 (.404) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves as well as a men's soccer collegiate head coach at four-year programs. Â He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.
Series Notes: Lourdes and Mount Vernon Nazarene will square off for the first time in program history on the pitch on Tuesday afternoon. The Gray Wolves own a 2-1 record all-time against UM-Dearborn, including a 2-1 victory in 2017.
Wrapping Up Last Week: The Gray Wolves returned to the road in their lone contest of last week as they visited Saint Francis (Ill.) on Wednesday. Lourdes was edged in the contest, 3-2.
Scouting Mount Vernon Nazarene: The Cougars sport a 4-2-1 record entering Tuesday's matchup and are 1-1-1 in their last three contests. The Cougars are outscoring their opponents by a 15-5 margin this season. Junior Tim Kasparek leads the team offensively with five goals, while freshman Logan Thompson is second on the team with three goals. Eight players have scored at least one goal, while six athletes have registered an assist this season. MVNU has seen three different keepers in the net this season, with freshman Joshua Dunn leading the way with 17 saves and a 0.455 goals against average.
Scouting UM-Dearborn: The Wolverines enter the week after dropping a 4-0 decision to Huntington. Junior Luke Baker and freshman Jack Barnett are currently tied for the lead on the team with two goals each, while Jack Barnett's three assists and seven points lead the team. Freshman keeper Alex Siluk has gone the distance for UM-Dearborn in the goal, compiling 31 saves this season. Alex Siluk also sports a .738 save percentage and a 2.20 goals against average.
WHAC Openers: In its first three seasons as a program, Lourdes has posted a 1-1-1 record in WHAC openers with its victory coming over Rochester (Mich.) in 2017. The Gray Wolves have outscored opponents 5-3 in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference season openers.
All-Time In The WHAC: Lourdes is looking for its 10th victory in the WHAC on Saturday afternoon in its matchup with UM-Dearborn. The Gray Wolves own a 9-21-3 record in WHAC play since the 2015 season. Lourdes has appeared in the WHAC Tournament once in the programs history, falling 1-0 to Marygrove.
Wrapping Up Non-Conference Play: The Gray Wolves will wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule on Tuesday afternoon at Mount Vernon Nazarene. The Gray Wolves are 10-8-1 all-time in non-conference tilts and will look to break a three-game losing streak in non-conference action.
Scoring Their First Career Goals: Of its four goals scored this season, the Gray Wolf men's soccer team has seen two athletes score their first career goals. Freshman
Osbaldo Senderos scored his first career goal in the season-opening 1-0 victory over Indiana East, while freshman
Jared Poslaiko tallied his first career goal last week in a 3-2 loss at Saint Francis (Ill.).
Finding Its Way Offensively: The Gray Wolves saw an uptick in the offense in its contest with Saint Francis (Ill.) as the team scored multiple goals in a contest for the first time this season. Senior
Nitram Senderos scored his first goal of the season against Saint Francis (Ill.), while
Jared Poslaiko tallied the other Gray Wolf goal.
Experience On The Pitch: Riley Hogan ranks fourth all-time on the school's all-time matches played list with 37 appearances for the Gray Wolves. He is also fourth in school history with 30 career starts.
Brett Chasnick is tied for seventh all-time at Lourdes with 27 appearances, while
Reece Riccardi also ranks in the top-10 with 32 career appearances.
In the Record Book: Reece Riccardi is tied for fourth in Lourdes history with his seven career goals. He also ranks sixth all-time with 16 career points.
Chuk Moses is currently tied for eighth on the all-time assists list with four.
Captain: Reece Riccardi will serve as the Gray Wolves lone captain for the 2018 season. This will mark his first season in a leadership role for the Gray Wolves.
This And That: Lourdes will turn its attention to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference after its contest with Mount Vernon Nazarene University ... Lourdes is 3-1 all-time in non-conference contests following a loss.
