SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- This Saturday starts a stretch of six consecutive that will be jam-packed with Summit League men's soccer action. There will be some non-conference matches sprinkled into the next six weeks but the quest for a conference regular season title starts with some intriguing matchups right out of the gate.
For starters, Kansas City heads back to the Mile High City where reigning regular seaosn champ Denver awaits for a rematch of last season's winner-take-all title match. The Pioneers and Roos finished one-two in the standings a season ago, but it was the visitor's who earned the league's automatic-bid to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 2-1 victory. Both of those squads racked up multiple postseason wins a season ago.
St. Thomas, who is off to its best start at the Division I level with a 4-1-4 record, will travel to face an Omaha squad that picked up its first win of the campaign last Sunday with a 2-1 victory over SIUE.
Wrapping up the league slate will be a tilt between the Summit's two newcomers as UMass visits Delaware. The Minutemen went 4-2-2 leading up to Summit play, while the Blue Hens were the final Division I team to suffer loss or draw after winning their first seven matches of the campaign. These two have squared off before but never as conference foes.
All three matches can be seen live on the Summit League Network.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 27 | TV/Stream | Local Time
UMass at Delaware* | SLN | 6 p.m. ET
Kansas City at Denver* | SLN | 6 p.m. MT
St. Thomas at Omaha* | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Tuesday, Sept. 30
VMI at St. Thomas | SLN | 1 p.m. CT
UMass at Holy Cross | ESPN+ | 6 p.m. ET
Delaware at Lehigh | 6 p.m. ET
Central Arkansas at Oral Roberts | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, Oct. 4
Denver at UMass* | SLN | 12 p.m. ET
Oral Roberts at St. Thomas* | SLN | 12 p.m. CT
Omaha at Kansas City* | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
Tuesday, Oct. 7
Denver at Georgetown | ESPNU | 7 p.m. ET
Tulsa at Oral Roberts | SLN | 7 p.m. CT
*Summit League match
Top 25 Rankings (United Soccer Coaches/Top Drawer)
Key: ACCNX (ACC Network Xtra), ESPN+ (ESPN Plus), ESPNU (Linear), NEC (NEC Front Row), NIUAA (NIU All-Access), SLN (Summit League Network)
RESULTS
Wednesday, Sept. 17
Kansas City 2, SIUE 0
Friday, Sept. 19
(4/10) Portland 3, Denver 2
Saturday, Sept. 20
UMass 2, Yale 2
St. Thomas 6, St. Cloud State 1
Drake 1, Oral Roberts 0
Sunday, Sept. 21
Omaha 2, SIUE 1
Kansas City 3, Western Illinois 0
Monday, Sept. 22
Seattle 3, Denver 0
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Delaware 1, George Washington 0
AROUND THE LEAGUE
• Kansas City extended its unbeaten streak to four with back-to-back shutouts, improving to 4-1-4 on the season. Freshman Marc Popow recorded the first two clean sheets of his collegiate career.
• Forward Jeremy Francou tallied goals in both victories and now ranks third in the Summit League with five goals and 13 points.
• Omaha earned its first win of the season with a 2-1 decision over SIUE. Theo Klein delivered the game-winning goal in the 34th minute -- his second goal of the campaign and 20th of his career -- moving him atop the Mavericks’ all-time scoring list.
• Graduate student Yoshiki Igarashi assisted on the opening goal, extending his streak to five straight games with a helper. His five assists lead all Summit players.
• St. Thomas matched last season’s win total with a 6-1 rout of St. Cloud State to improve to 4-1-3. Midfielder Alejandro Giner netted his first career brace, helping the Tommies set Division I program records for goals in a game and margin of victory. UST opens Summit play at Omaha on Saturday night.
• UMass and Yale played to a 2-2 draw after the Bulldogs opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 17th minute. The Minutemen missed a penalty of their own in the 31st minute but scored twice in the second half, including a go-ahead strike from Matt Cence in the 60th minute.
• The Minutemen outshot the Bulldogs 24-4, forcing Yale goalkeeper Conrad Lee to make 10 saves.
• UMass and Delaware meet in their first Summit League match against each other. The campuses are 330 miles apart; UMass leads the all-time series 2-1 with the last meeting a 1-0 Minutemen victory in 2012.
• Delaware was the final Division I team to suffer a loss or draw this season and comes off a 1-1 tie at George Washington. The Blue Hens opened 2024 with a program-record seven straight wins. Sophomore Marius Stenner added to his league-best total with his eighth goal of the season against the Colonials.
• Sophomore Marius Stenner added to his conference-leading goal total with his eighth of the season against the Colonials.
• Denver looks to rebound from back-to-back losses in the Pacific Northwest -- 3-2 at (4/10) Portland and 3-0 at Seattle -- when it hosts Kansas City in a rematch of last year’s Summit League Championship match.
• The Roos won that title game 2-1 when Summit League Player of the Year Elie Kisoka converted a corner kick in the final minute of regulation.
• Oral Roberts dropped its third straight with a 1-0 setback at Drake this past weekend. The Golden Eagles return to the pitch Sept. 30 for a non-conference tilt with Central Arkansas at home before opening their Summit campaign Oct. 4 at St. Thomas.
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