Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Soccer: Lourdes University begins the ninth season of men's soccer on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves host Mount Vernon Nazarene.  The Gray Wolves will continue their season-opening homestand on Saturday night as Marian (Ind.) visits Wildcat Stadium.

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 105-121-14 (.467) record overall in his 13th season as a men's collegiate soccer coach and has a 30-37-6 (.452) mark in his third year at Lourdes.

Series Notes: Mount Vernon Nazarene has won both previous meetings between the two schools in a series that began Sept. 18, 2018.  Last year the Cougars scored a 4-1 triumph over the Gray Wolves in Mount Vernon, Ohio.  This will be Mount Vernon Nazarene's first trip to Sylvania.  Marian (Ind.) won its only previous match against Lourdes, 4-2, in Indianapolis, Ind. on Aug. 27, 2022.  

Wrapping Up 2022: Lourdes finished the 2022 season with a 6-9-4 record overall.  The Gray Wolves had a 4-4-3 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play, finishing sixth in the final league ledger.  Lourdes traveled to Northwestern Ohio for the WHAC tournament quarterfinals, falling to the Racers 4-1.  

Scouting Mount Vernon Nazarene: The Cougars are still looking for their first victory of the season after falling 3-2 at home against Saint Xavier on Saturday afternoon.  Zack Bowser and Daniel Martinez have accounted for Mount Vernon Nazarene's two goals on the season while Ryan Walters has garnered an assist.  Nate Hutsell has played every minute in goal thus far, sporting a 3.00 goals against average and a .714 save percentage.

Scouting Marian (Ind.): The Knights opened their season with a 2-2 draw at 19th-ranked Indiana Tech last Wednesday (Aug. 23).  Marian hosts Oakland City on Wednesday afternoon before visiting Lourdes.  Kyle Alb and Alan Tenorio scored the Knights' two goals while Sebastian Gonzalez and Sam Goodin each handed out assists.  Juan Torres made four saves in the opener.

Lourdes in Season Openers: Lourdes enters the contest 5-2-1 all-time in season openers.  The Gray Wolves had won two consecutive season openers prior to a 2-0 setback at home against Georgetown (Ky.) to begin the 2022 season..  Lourdes is 1-1-1 all-time in season openers played at home, with the lone victory coming Aug. 27, 2016 against Grace Bible, 3-1.

Gray Wolves in Home Openers: Lourdes is 3-4-1 all-time in home openers after suffering the 2-0 setback to Georgetown (Ky.) last year.  The last time the Gray Wolves won their home opener was a 5-0 victory over Point Park in 2021.  

Facing the Crossroads League: Lourdes will play a pair of Crossroads League foes this week, and four total during the non-conference slate.  All-time, the Gray Wolves are 2-9-1 against current Crossroads League members, earning victories over Goshen and Bethel (Ind.).  Lourdes will battle league foes Huntington and Taylor later this season as well.

Top Returning Scorers: While Lourdes graduated its top returning scorer from last season, Anthony Samuel who had seven goals, the Gray Wolves return a trio of players that were near the top of the scoring ledger.  Diego Pereira, Jonas Kreutzberg, and Leon Eisert all scored four times for the Gray Wolves

Experience Returns in Goal: Lourdes has two goalkeepers that saw action one year ago.  Alex Brock appeared in 13 matches, posting a 1.54 goals against average and a .706 save percentage in 1170 minutes while recording a pair of shutouts.  Yianni Kanellopoulos saw action in a pair of contests for the Gray Wolves, making one save.

In the Record Books: Diego Pereira begins the 2023 season tied with Brendon Long (2018-2020) for eighth all-time at Lourdes with nine career goals.  They trail Reece Riccardi (2016-2019) by just one goal for seventh on the all-time charts.  Pereira is also ninth on the school's all-time points list with 22, trailing Riccardi and teammate Hussein Sbeiti by one. 

More Top Performances: Hussein Sbeiti is also ranked in the top 10 in scoring for the Gray Wolves.  He enters the year tied with Haggi Amirally (2016-2017) for 10th with eight career goals while his seven assists are tied with N'Faly Diallo (2018-2022) and Andris Klempert (2019-2022) for sixth on that chart.  Sbeiti's 23 career points match Reece Riccardi's (2016-2019) total which ranks seventh all-time at Lourdes.

Gray Wolves Tabbed Sixth in WHAC Preseason Poll: Lourdes was selected to finish in sixth 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 Lawrence Tech.  Madonna was selected to win the league crown.

Team Captains: Victor Espinoza, Daniel Mirlach, and Ariel Ramirez Rios will serve as team captains for the 2023 season.

This and That: Lourdes enters the 2023 season with a 51-75-11 all-time record ... the Gray Wolves are 22-30-9 all-time at Wildcat Stadium ... the Gray Wolves have 20 players returning that were a part of the program in the 2022 season ... Alex Brock needs five saves in goal to move into a tie for fourth on the career list, entering the season with 48 career stops.