Complete Notes

Upcoming in Gray Wolves Soccer: Lourdes University begins the eighth season of men's soccer on Thursday afternoon as the Gray Wolves host Georgetown (Ky.) in non-conference action.  The match is the first athletic event of the season for any Lourdes athletics program in 2022-2023.

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 99-112-10 (.471) record overall in his 12th season as a men's collegiate soccer coach and has a 24-28-1 (.462) mark in his second year at Lourdes.

Series Notes: Georgetown (Ky.) won the only previous match between the two schools 1-0 in Georgetown, Ky. on Sept. 4, 2021.  The Tigers scored the lone goal of the match with just 4:32 to play in regulation as Georgetown handed Lourdes its first setback of the year.

Wrapping Up 2021: Lourdes finished the 2021 season with a 9-8-1 record overall, matching the school record for victories in a season.  The Gray Wolves had a 4-5-1 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play, tying for sixth in the final league ledger.  Lourdes traveled to Northwestern Ohio for the WHAC tournament quarterfinals, falling to the Racers 2-1 in overtime.  

Scouting Georgetown (Ky.): The Tigers went 11-6-1 overall and 5-5-1 in the Mid-South Conference during the 2021 campaign, tying for seventh in the conference standings.  Olivet Nazarene returns 25 players from its roster last season.  Luca Zellman is the team's top returning scorer with six goals and four assists for 16 total points.  Jake McKettrick added five goals and 12 points for Georgetown in 2021.  In goal, Theren Handlon is back after playing all but 45 minutes one year ago, sporting a 1.41 goals against average and a .764 save percentage.

Lourdes in Season Openers: Lourdes enters the contest 5-1-1 all-time in season openers.  The Gray Wolves won their 2021 season opener at Olivet Nazarene 3-1 for the team's second consecutive win to start a season.  Lourdes will be opening at home for the first time since 2017 when the Gray Wolves hosted Indiana East to a 1-1 double-overtime draw.

Gray Wolves in Home Openers: Lourdes is 3-3-1 all-time in home openers and have won the first home match of the year in two consecutive seasons.  The Gray Wolves opened their home campaign in 2021 with a 5-0 victory over Point Park at Wildcat Stadium.  

Facing the Mid-South Conference: Lourdes is playing just its third match all-time against a Mid-South Conference foe on Thursday afternoon.  The Gray Wolves are looking for their first win ever against the conference, entering play 0-2 against the league's current lineup.  Lourdes has faced Georgetown (Ky.) and Shawnee State once each prior to this week.

2021 Award Winners: Lourdes looks to replace First Team All-WHAC selection Farouk Amoo and Second Team All-WHAC honoree Savio Adams, both of whom the Gray Wolves lost to graduation.  Diego Pereira returns for the Gray Wolves though after earning a spot on the WHAC All-Newcomer Team in 2021.  Pereira finished third on the squad in scoring last season, tallying five goals and handing out two assists for 12 total points.

Other Top Returning Scorers: Leon Eisert led Lourdes in scoring among this year's returnees after finding the back of the net six times in 2021.  Eisert was second overall in scoring for the Gray Wolves last year with 17 total points, sharing the team lead with five assists.  Hussein Sbeiti also returns for Lourdes this season after scoring five times and adding two assists for 12 points.

Experience Returns in Goal: Lourdes has two goalkeepers that saw action one year ago.  Igor Silva started 16 matches, posting a 1.59 goals against average and a .653 save percentage.  Jorge Mendoza saw limited action, notching a 2.00 GAA and a .667 save mark.

That's a Lot of Matches: N'Faly Diallo enters the season already holding the school record with 53 career starts during his time at Lourdes.  He ranks third all-time with 66 total appearances, just three shy of Jose Silviera (2017-2021) for second.  Robert Pereznegron is one start shy of Diallo's mark entering the year and is fourth on the matches played list with 63 appearances.

In the Record Books: Darius Passley-Bennett and Leon Eisert begin the 2022 season tied for eighth all-time with seven career goals.  They trail Haggi Amirally by one goal for seventh on the all-time charts.  Eisert is also tied with Akilla Arno (2015-2017) for third with nine career assists.  He is one helper shy of the school mark held by Jake Kirchoff-Sleet (2015-2016) and Farouk Amoo (2018-2021).  Andris Klempert ranks sixth on the career assists list with seven, needing one more to match Savio Adams (2018, 2020-21) for fifth in school history.  

More Top Performances: Leon Eisert enters the year tied for fifth with Reece Riccardi (2016-2019) with 23 career points.  Darius Passley-Bennett is tied for 10th on the list with Akilla Arno (2015-2017), each tallying 17 points.  Hussein Sbeiti begins 2022 with three career match-winning goals, tied for third most in program history.  Sbeiti is one match-winner shy of Judah Goodridge's (2015-2017) second place mark of four.

Gray Wolves Tabbed Sixth 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 fifth place Madonna.  Indiana Tech was the unanimous selection to win the league crown.

Team Captains: N'Faly Diallo, Anthony Samuel, and Igor Silva will serve as team captains for the 2022 season.

This and That: Lourdes enters the 2022 season with a 45-66-7 all-time record ... the Gray Wolves are 18-29-6 all-time at Wildcat Stadium ... Igor Silva enters 2022 third all-time with four career shutouts in goal ... the Gray Wolves have 22 players returning that were a part of the program in the 2021 season.