Men’s Soccer Opens Season with Montreat

LAKELAND, Fla.— The Fire men's soccer squad will look to get its 2018 campaign started on the right foot as the team travels to Montreat College to open the season.
 
GAME INFO:
Southeastern (0-0) @ Montreat College (0-0)
Date: Thursday, August 16, 2018
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Black Mountain, N.C.
Coverage: Live Updates- follow @SEUFireMSoccer on Twitter, Live Stats & Video- https://portal.stretchinternet.com/montreat/
 
The Fire:

• Southeastern is coming off of an 8-7-1 record last year after advancing to the Sun Conference quarterfinal before getting eliminated by SCAD.
• Senior Jonathan Jimenez, the only returning player to register at least ten points each of the past three years, will look to anchor the Fire's formation in the midfield. Jimenez is tied with Jake Van der Luit as the top returner with three goals and is the most productive returning player with four assists.
• SEU welcomes forward transfers Jackson Darnell, Craig Barker, and Julian Hall to the squad. Darnell tallied six goals and nine assists for Central Methodist University, while Barker notched 13 goals and 16 assists in two years at Iowa Lakes CC. With the addition of these threats, the offense that averaged 16.4 shots per game (38^th in the NAIA) should continue to do damage in 2018.
• Kendall Crouse and Jake Van der Luit are back after sustaining injuries that cost them the 2017 season. Crouse, a two-time All-Sun Conference defenseman that has 40 caps under his belt with the Fire, will likely captain the back line with junior Joey Dotson. Look for Van der Luit to combine with Darnell, Barker and Hall to create quality scoring chances in the final third.

The Cavaliers:

• The Cavaliers enter 2018 following their best season since 2011, making the AAC tournament semi-final last year with an 11-9 record.
• Montreat ranked 33^rd in the nation in shots on goal per game (8.5), while finishing 47^th and 49^th in total goals (49) and goals per game (2.45), respectively.
• The Cavaliers return their second-best goal scorer from a year ago, Francisco Prado, who netted the ball seven times in 17 competitions. The junior has collected 17 goals in 35 contests with Montreat.
• Seniors Daniel dos Santos and Jeovanni Ordaz also return in the midfield for the Cavaliers. The duo combined for eight goals with six helpers in 2017. Ordaz does a phenomenal job of putting the ball on frame, forcing saves or scoring on 27 of his 40 shot attempts last season.

 
Previous Meetings:
 
In the only other meeting in school history, Southeastern hosted Montreat on October 9^th of last year, a game that saw the Fire come out victorious by a score of 1-0.

Tale of the Tape:
 
SEU (2017)
Goals per Game: 2.1
Shots per Game: 16.4
Shots on Goal per Game: 6.6
Shutouts: 5
Returning Individual Goals Leader: Jonathan Jimenez/Jake Van der Luit (3)
Returning Individual Assists Leader: Jonathan Jimenez (4)
Returning Individual Saves Leader: Jorge Navarrete (67)
 
MC (2017)
Goals per Game: 2.5
Shots per Game: 15.1
Shots on Goal per Game: 8.5
Shutouts: 4
Returning Individual Goals Leader: Francisco Prado (7)
Returning Individual Assists Leader: Juan Carlos Ramirez (6)
Returning Individual Saves Leader: Jesus Ramos (4)