LAMONI, Iowa – The William Woods University men's soccer team gets its 2015 season underway on Saturday, as the team pays a visit to Graceland University with a kick-off set for 2:00 p.m.
 
The Owls are coming off a season that saw the team collect its second straight 11-win season and tie its program record with six American Midwest Conference (AMC) victories.  William Woods earned the No. 5 seed in the 2014 AMC Conference Tournament, where they matched up with the No. 4 seeded Hannibal-LaGrange University. Despite the team's valiant effort, its season came to an end, as WWU fell 4-1 to the Trojans in the Quarterfinals.
 
WWU ended the year setting a new program record of 11 total shutouts on the season, which was good enough for fourth in the nation. The team also was ranked No. 3 in the nation in shutouts per game.
 
After losing both offensive and defensive threats from their 2014 squad, this season, WWU however, returns a handful of players that will be look towards to play key roles on the season. "Jesse Bowers, Conor Foxall, Joe Lewis and Conor Cable will need to step up and keep the defense organized," said head coach Nathan Mason.
 
Cable, a Spalding, England native, returns in the net for the Owls, after he collected 77 saves, which was sixth best in the AMC and recorded a single-season record of eight shutouts. His efforts on the year earned him All-AMC first team honors, while being named AMC and NAIA Defensive Player of the Week Award.
 
Graceland University is coming off a 7-11 overall record in 2014 and a 4-3 Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) record.
 
This season, the Yellow Jackets are without the service of their leading scorer, Cody Phillips (four goals) and Cassey Lamin, who led the team in assists (six). However, GU returns senior midfielder, Cody Bietlinger, who posted a team-high 42 shots, while scoring three goals last season.
 
Graceland is currently 1-0 on the 2015 season, as the team defeated Ottawa University 2-0 in their home opener earlier this week.
 
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow for a full recap and score of the season opener from Iowa.

Tweet ##Owls_MSOC