The William Woods University men's soccer team opens the 2011 season under the lights of Firley Field tonight. WWU will host Avila University at 7 pm.

 

Weather pending, live stats and a VideoCast will be made available. To watch tonight's soccer match, visit the William Woods University page at the Cube.com. When the broadcast begins, it will automatically appear on your screen.

 

To follow the stats on-line, visit the William Woods University page at DakStats.com. Once you are at the site, click on the (((W))) for live stats.

 

The Owls and Eagles tied 1-1 in double overtime last season in their only meeting. Marcelo Carreiro scored for the Owls in the tie. Avila leads the all-time series 3-2-2. WWU last defeated the Eagles 2-0 on September 19, 2009.

 

The Owls are coming off a 2010 season in which they finished fifth in the American Midwest Conference. The Owls went 11-7-2 overall and 3-4 in the AMC. Their season came to an end in the semifinals of the AMC postseason tournament with a loss to Park University.

 

Coach Nathan Mason begins his fourth season at the helm of the men's soccer program. His team has posted back-to-back 11-win seasons. The 2010 Owls advanced in the AMC postseason tournament for the first time since the 1999 season. Coach Mason is 14 wins away from becoming the all-time winningest coach in William Woods history.

 

The Owls lost four players to graduation from the 2010 team. They return 17 members from last year's team, including the AMC Freshman of the Year, Marcelo Carreiro. Carreiro tied for the team lead with nine goals scored. He led the Owls with five assists and 23 points.

 

Four returners were named to the 2010 Honorable Mention All-AMC team: Carreiro, Joao Paulo Dutra Parra, Joel De Leon and Luis Percovich. Dutra Parra, a sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil, tied for the team lead with nine goals. De Leon, a sophomore from Simi Valley, Calif., scored eight goals and recorded 12 points for the Owls. Percovich, a senior from Coral Springs, Fla., had three assists for the Owls, and was named AMC Defensive Player of the Week twice.

 

William Woods returns one goalkeeper from last season. Sean Geoghegan, a sophomore from Naas Co. Kildare, Ireland, appeared in nine matches last season. He recorded 21 saves and was a part of five shutouts.

 

Other returning players include: Zach Hurst, Ivan Velez, Brian Dougherty, Ruben Ramirez, Gentry Coffman, Ryan Mann, Christyan Busato, Ryan Miller, Matt Steiniger, Kyle Konigsberg, Kyle Matthews and Caleb Sutter.

 

Coach Mason added 10 newcomers to the roster this season: Dominic Bisesi, Danilo Carnelos, Paulo Conelian, Igor Dos Santos, Jacob Hawes, Jeremy Herrman, Alan Matthew, Jonas Neto, Luca Stroeter and Tyler Subke.

 

The Owls open with five of its first six matches at home. Three AMC rivals are either ranked (#23 Columbia College) or receiving votes (Park University and Hannibal-LaGrange University) in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll.