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Upcoming in Gray Wolves Soccer: Lourdes University begins the seventh season of men's soccer on Saturday evening as the Gray Wolves travel to Bourbonnais, Ill. to battle Olivet Nazarene.  The match is the first of five consecutive non-league road contests to begin the 2021 campaign prior to the team's home opener on Sept. 11.

Head Coach Matt Johnson: Matt Johnson took over as the second head coach in program's history prior to the 2019 season.  Johnson sports a 90-104-9 (.466) record overall in his 11th season as a men's collegiate soccer coach and has a 15-20-1 (.431) mark in his second year at Lourdes.

Series Notes: Olivet Nazarene won the only previous match between the two schools 3-1 at Wildcat Stadium on Oct. 13, 2020.  Lourdes led 1-0 at halftime before the Tigers scored a pair of goals in a five-minute span midway through the second stanza to take the lead for good.

Wrapping Up 2020: Lourdes finished the 2020 season with a 9-8-1 record overall, setting a school record for victories in a season.  The Gray Wolves had a 6-4-1 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play, placing fourth in the league ledger.  Lourdes hosted Cornerstone in the WHAC tournament quarterfinals, falling to the Golden Eagles 3-2.  The season was split last year, with Lourdes playing nine matches in the fall and nine matches in the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19.

Scouting Olivet Nazarene: The Tigers went 11-4-1 overall and 8-3-1 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference during the 2020 campaign, placing fourth in the conference standings.  Olivet Nazarene returns 17 players that saw the field last season.  Leading scorer Max Jasper returns for the Tigers after tallying 17 goals and 38 total points on the year.  James Lynch is also back this season after tallying nine goals and sharing the team lead with Nick Killian with five assists.  In goal, Mike Gianotta played a majority of the minutes in goal, sporting a 1.52 goals against average and a .722 save percentage.

Lourdes in Season Openers: Lourdes enters the contest 4-1-1 all-time in season openers.  The Gray Wolves won their 2020 season opener at Point Park 3-2 after falling in their first match of the 2019 campaign.  Lourdes will be opening on the road for the fourth consecutive season, having last begun a year at home in 2017 when Indiana East visited Wildcat Stadium.

Facing the CCAC: Lourdes is playing just its fourth match all-time against a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe on Saturday evening.  The Gray Wolves are looking for their first win ever against the conference, entering play 0-3 against the league's current lineup.  Lourdes has faced Holy Cross (Ind.), Olivet Nazarene, and Saint Francis (Ill.) once each prior to this weekend.

A Return to "Normal": After having the 2020 season split between the fall and spring, the men's soccer schedule returns to the fall entirely in 2021.  The Gray Wolves have 18 regular season matches on the slate this year, including eight at home at Wildcat Stadium.

2020 Award Winners: Savio Adams returns for his final season after earning Second Team All Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference honors one season ago, becoming just the second Gray Wolf in program history to earn the honor.  Adams led Lourdes with six assists last year while adding four goals for 14 total points.  Anthony Samuel became the second Lourdes player ever named to the WHAC All-Newcomer Team in 2020.  He tallied three goals and added a pair of assists in 2020.

Other Top Returning Scorers: Farouk Amoo is the Gray Wolves' top returning scorer after tallying six goals and 14 total points for Lourdes last year.  In addition Savio Adams and Anthony Samuel, Kevin Gonzalez and Robert Pereznegron both had multi-goal campaigns last year as well, scoring twice each.

Experience Returns in Goal: Lourdes has four goalkeepers that shared time one season ago.  Ali Chokr appeared in the most matches, making 14 starts while posting a 1.74 goals against average and registering two shutouts. Jorge Mendoza saw action in four contests, while Garrett Baxley and Igor Silva both took to the pitch as well between the posts.

Experience Returning: Olawole Ogunsanya enters the season as the school record holder for matches played, having appeared in 60 contests over his first four years with the Gray Wolves.  Jose Silveira ranks third all-time at Lourdes with 54 appearances, three behind second place Reece Riccardi (2016-2019).  Robert Pereznegron enters the year fifth on the all-time list with 49 career matches played.

In the Record Books: Farouk Amoo enters the season tied with Reece Riccardi (2016-2019) for third all-time at Lourdes with 10 career goals.  He is nine goals behind second place Judah Goodridge (2015-2017).  Amoo is also third with 25 career points, 18 behind Goodridge for second.  Savio Adams enters the season third on the career assist list with seven, two in back of second place Akilla Arno (2015-2017).  Adams is also tied with Brendon Long (2018-2020) for fifth with 21 career points.

Gray Wolves Tabbed Fifth in WHAC Preseason Poll: Lourdes was selected to finish in fifth place in the WHAC this season in the preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  The Gray Wolves were picked just behind fourth place Madonna.  Indiana Tech was the unanimous selection to win the league crown.

This and That: Lourdes enters the 2021 season with a 36-58-6 all-time record ... the Gray Wolves are 20-31-1 all-time on the road ... Lourdes looks to replace its leading scorer from 2020, Brendon Long, who scored eight goals and had 17 total points ... the Gray Wolves have 31 players returning that were a part of the program in the 2020 season ... due to COVID-19, last season did not count as a year of eligibility for Lourdes players.