LAKELAND, Fla. – The 15
th ranked Southeastern men's soccer team will kick off the 2016 regular season with two games at a classic hosted by Union College. Last season, the Fire finished 16-5 and captured the Sun Conference regular season and tournament championship for the first time in program history. The team's postseason run came to an end in the NAIA Round of 16, where the Fire fell 1-0 to Indiana Wesleyan.
GAMES: (15) Southeastern (0-0) vs. University of the Cumberlands (0-0) | Friday 5 p.m. | (15) Southeastern (0-0) vs. (13) Union College (0-0) | Saturday 7:30 p.m.
COVERAGE: Watch Stats
FIRE BACK: The Fire return nine starters and 42 of its 55 goals from last season. One of those returning will be defending Sun Conference Player of the Year and NAIA Honorable Mention All-America
Pedro Ivo Dias. The senior led the Fire last season in scoring with ten goals on 36 shots and six assists.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Fire will have to get comfortable on the road as they play their first six games of the 2016 campaign away from the SEU Soccer Field. Two of those six games will come against teams who ended last season ranked in the NAIA top 10; including defending national champion Rio Grande (Ohio). SEU was a combined 7-3 in away and neutral site games last season.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The two games in Barbourville will mark the first time the Fire have faced either teams in program history.
THE PATRIOTS: Cumberlands is coming off an 11-8-1 performance last season, its best record since 2010. 2
nd team All-Mid-South Conference players Jack Hutton (17 defensive starts) and Jack Cousin (14 goals, 3 assists) are key returners. The Patriots bring in a large freshman class, including standouts Zinyor Babiker, Sam Ho, and Zach Wallace. Chris LeFevre takes over the helm as the new head coach for the team.
THE BULLDOGS: Union had one of its best seasons in program history in 2015: putting up a 17-2-4 record, winning its first Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Championship in program history, and making it to the NAIA second round. The Bulldogs return 51 of their 57 goals from last season, including leading scorers Luke Hitchman (10 goals, 8 assists) and Andre Scott (10 goals, 3 assists). Chris Davison tops the list of newcomers as a transfer from Cayuga Community College, where he netted 35 career goals and was named First-Team All-American in 2015.
Be sure to follow @SEUFireMSoccer on Twitter to keep up with all the action.
