Friday, August 26
Chicago, Ill.
6 p.m. ET
Bucknell University
at
Loyola Chicago
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Men's Soccer Starts Dave Brandt Era with Pair of Games in Chicago
8/24/2022 5:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bucknell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Patriot League) at Loyola Chicago (0-0-0, 0-0-0 A-10)
When:Â Friday, Aug. 26, 6 p.m. ETÂ
Where:Â Loyola Soccer Park, Chicago, Ill.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â LoyolaRamblers.com
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Bucknell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Patriot League) at DePaul (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big East)
When:Â Sunday, Aug. 28, 2 p.m. ETÂ
Where:Â Wish Field, Chicago, Ill.
Streaming:Â FloSportsÂ
Bucknell at a Glance
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When:Â Friday, Aug. 26, 6 p.m. ETÂ
Where:Â Loyola Soccer Park, Chicago, Ill.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â LoyolaRamblers.com
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Bucknell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Patriot League) at DePaul (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big East)
When:Â Sunday, Aug. 28, 2 p.m. ETÂ
Where:Â Wish Field, Chicago, Ill.
Streaming:Â FloSportsÂ
Bucknell at a Glance
- Bucknell's 90th season of men's soccer – and the first under new head coach Dave Brandt – gets underway this week with two games in Chicago against Loyola and DePaul. This will be Bucknell's first-ever meeting with both opponents.
- Brandt is Bucknell's 14th full-time head coach and just the third dating back to 1967. Brandt, who was hired in December after interim head coach Matt Brown guided the squad last season, has a remarkable career record of 354-86-40 in stints at Messiah, Navy, and Hope. His .779 winning percentage is 20th-best in NCAA men's soccer history among coaches from all divisions with a minimum of 10 years. Brandt won six Division III national championships at Messiah and led Navy to the 2013 Patriot League title and an NCAA Tournament first-round win. Â
- Brandt's first Bucknell squad is a young one, with 16 of the 27 players on the roster in their freshman or sophomore year. The Bison return 14 players who saw game action last year, including leading scorer Jordan Miller.
- Miller had a breakout 2021 season after moving to forward from center back. He tallied six of the team's 12 goals on the season, including five in a four-game span in September, and earned Third Team All-Patriot League honors.
- Bucknell's active roster has combined for 15 career goals, led by the six from Miller. Eddie Perez-Pelaez, who moves from an attacking role to center back this season, has four goals, followed by Sebastian Paz and Jameson Railey with two each and Chris Masur with one.
- The Bison have four captains in 2022: seniors Perez-Pelaez and Masur, and juniors MJ Kuczura and Collin Murphy. Kuczura is in his second year as a captain. A year ago he became the first sophomore captain in team history.
- Senior Bennett Schwartz opens the season in goal after starting 14 of the 17 games last season.
- Bucknell has 10 freshmen on the 2022 roster, in addition to two sophomore transfers in Waldemar Kattrup (St. John's) and Jake Nicoll (Wake Forest).
- The Bison have one Chicago-area player returning home this weekend. Freshman wingback Jackson Sullivan is from La Grange Park (Lyons Township H.S.). Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- The Ramblers are playing their season opener after winning all three exhibition matches against Western Illinois (2-1), Milwaukee (5-0), and Marquette (2-0).
- Loyola finished 9-5-2 overall and 6-3-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference last season. The Ramblers were the No. 2 seed in the MVC Tournament but fell in penalty kicks to No. 4 Evansville in the semifinals.
- Loyola has a new head coach and a new league in 2022. First-year head coach Steve Bode's team is moving to the Atlantic 10 Conference this season. The Ramblers were picked fifth in the A-10 preseason poll, behind Saint Louis, Rhode Island, VCU, and Fordham. Loyola's Michael Hong was named to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Team. Hong, a redshirt senior, played every minute of every game in the back line a year ago, and he earned First Team All-MVC and First Team All-West Region honors.
- Loyola outscored opponents 33-16 in 16 games last season. Billy Hency, another fifth-year senior, led the team with nine goals and eight assists on the way to Third Team All-America and Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors. Â
- Bucknell heads several blocks south to face DePaul on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Demons open their 2022 slate at home on Friday against 25th-ranked Bowling Green.
- DePaul finished 7-7-3 overall and 3-4-3 in the Big East last year. This year's team was picked to finished ninth among 11 teams in the Big East preseason poll.
- Jack Richards led the team with five goals last season, followed by Marek Gonda with four. The Blue Demons scored 19 goals while conceding 20 in 17 contests. Richards and Gonda are both back in 2022.
- Gandhi Cruz played every minute in goal as a freshman for DePaul last season. He tallied 76 saves for a .792 save percentage on the way to Third Team All-Big East honors.
- Head coach Mark Plotkin is in his fifth season at DePaul. Plotkin is familiar with Bucknell and the Patriot League, having served as associate head coach at Colgate from 2014-17.
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