Hawks set to open soccer season at home on Friday
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon men's soccer team opens the season under the lights at Samford Stadium on Friday.
The Hawks host the Mississippi University for Women at 6 p.m. The game will be the first men's soccer game in MUW's history.
Huntingdon will play its first three games at home. Following MUW, the Hawks host Pensacola Christian on Saturday night at 6 at Samford Stadium. Huntingdon will host Birmingham-Southern at Samford Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Head Coach Matt Cooper on starting the season: "We are very excited for our games this weekend. We have high expectations for this season and are really looking forward to getting things going. We have been working hard in the preseason and now it is time to put what we have been working on, and fine tuning, into action. The team is fit, bought in, organized and ready to prove a point this season. We can't wait to start playing."
Cooper on starting the season with three home games: "To start the season with three home games is great. With so many new guys, it is nice for them and the rest of the team as well, to start in our home environment. To play the first three games in front of our home fans and friends and playing where we have been training for the past two weeks, that will be a big advantage to start the season."
Cooper on the expectations going into the opening weekend: "Obviously we want to come away with two wins, but I am looking for us to play good soccer, be defensively sound and have good shape this weekend. We will be a much more organized and disciplined team this season, but we need to prove it this weekend and throughout the whole season."
Cooper on the leadership of his returning players: "All five of our seniors (John Robert Lawrence, Cam Smith, Beau Jenkins, Killian Delmore and Garrett Kull) have done a great job of bringing along the 20-plus newcomers. Getting everyone on the same page with this many new players can be a challenge, but the seniors have really set a good standard and have shown the new guys how things are done and what we expect of them.
"We will look for Beau to have a really good season along with Mac Puller. We will need both of those players to score some goals for us to be successful this season. But we have a lot of talented freshmen as well that I know will make an impact and will be very valuable players for us this season. We are really excited to get going and see how things unfold."