SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer team will host the University of the Pacific and Drake University to open the 2025 campaign. The Cardinals and the Tigers face off on Thursday at 7 p.m. and the Bulldogs on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium.
How to Follow Games
UIW
- The Cardinals return 12 players from the 2024 roster, including nine players who each logged over 500 minutes of play. The Red and Black also welcomed 16 new players to the squad.
- Head coach Kiki Lara returns for his sixth season after leading the team to a 6-6-6 finish in 2024, marking the Cardinals' best season since 2015.
- Last season also saw UIW return to the Ohio Valley Conference Semifinals following their trip to the conference finals in 2023.
- In goal for the Cardinals this year is graduate student Alejandro De La Torre who is returning following last season's historic run. De La Torre broke the record for most shutouts in a single season in the 24' campaign.
- Rochaine Baker was named a Preseason Player to Watch earlier this week. The Cardinals were selected to finish fifth in the Preseason Rankings.
Scouting the Tigers
- Senior Jose Maria Barrera returns as Pacific's leading scorer from the 2024 campaign. The native of Stockton, California, started 14 matches, pacing the Tigers with seven points after notching two goals and three assists.
- With the graduation of Joshua Moya, the Tigers will look for a new leader in goal with redshirt Juan Martinez and junior Mateus Ruiz-Hurst as candidates to take on the starting role at the forefront of the new year.
- Senior Luca Baltzer was among 11 men's soccer student-athletes named to the West Coast Conference preseason team last week.
Scouting the Bulldogs
- Drake finished with a 9-5-3 overall record and an impressive 5-1-2 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play, good for second place in the MVC.
- Bulldog standouts Ryder Barrett, Preston Kipnusu, and Eskil Gjerde were named to the Preseason All-MVC Team. Gjerde added that honor to his inclusion on the United Soccer Coaches Defenders to Watch list.
- The Bulldogs were selected as the preseason favorite in the 2025 MVC Preseason Poll released earlier this week.
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics, and like UIW Athletics on Facebook.
Follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @UIWMensSoccer.
--UIW CARDINALS--
