2017 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's soccer team

The 2017 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's soccer team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, the school's 51st season. The Cougars were coached by Mario Sanchez. The team played their home games on Bob Guelker Field at the Ralph Korte Stadium as an affiliate member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Initially announced as moving from the Missouri Valley Conference to the MAC in 2018,[1] on June 8, it was announced that the move would be made immediately.[2][3]

Starting this season, SIUE men's soccer is an affiliate member of the Mid-American Conference

2017 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's soccer
Conference	Mid-American Conference
2017 record	7–10–1 (2–3–0 MAC)
Head coach	Mario Sanchez (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Jeremy Proud Simon Bird
Home stadium	Ralph Korte Stadium Capacity, 4,000

2017 Mid-American Conference men's soccer standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 9 Western Michigan +	5	–	0	–	0			17	–	4	–	1
No. 3 Akron ‡	4	–	1	–	0			18	–	4	–	2
SIU Edwardsville	2	–	3	–	0			7	–	10	–	1
West Virginia	1	–	2	–	2			9	–	6	–	4
Bowling Green	1	–	3	–	1			7	–	9	–	1
Northern Illinois	0	–	4	–	1			3	–	11	–	1
‡ – 2017 MAC Tournament champion + – Invited to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship As of December 13, 2017; Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

Preseason

Fifteen players returned from the 2016 squad that won the Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer tournament championship and advanced to the 3rd round of the NCAA tournament along with two players who were redshirted as freshmen. Twelve of the returners started games for the 2016 Cougars. They are joined by three transfer students and seven freshmen.[4]

In their opening spring game, the Cougars tied the professional Saint Louis FC of the United Soccer League 1–1 on March 19 with Lachlan McLean scoring on a pass from Devon Jambga.. Playing at then-MVC rival Evansville on March 26, Greg Solawa scored with an assist by Jambga, and McLean made a penalty shot to give the Cougars a 2–0 win. At UMKC of the Western Athletic Conference an April 15, Keegan McHugh scored on a free kick from inches outside the penalty box, McLean took a pass from Carl Hinkson inside the 6 yard box and buried it, then added a goal from 30 yards out, assisted by McHugh for a 3–0 SIUE victory. On April 22, the Cougars hosted Lindenwood-Belleville of the NAIA and the American Midwest Conference; McLean was in the keeper's face as he took a crossing pass from Sander Heieren and laid it in the net, Johan DePicker harnessed a missed Austin Polster shot and scored from a crowd inside the box, McHugh scored on a penalty kick, and TC Hull took a long pass and centered it to McLean whose second goal of the match gave the Cougars a 4–1 win. Final spring record, 3–0–1.[5]

For Fall preseason exhibition games, SIUE scheduled the fellow Sweet 16 member and former Missouri Valley Conference opponent Creighton Bluejays of the Big East Conference and the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference.[6]

In the "friendly" against 14th ranked Creighton in Omaha, after a scoreless first half, the Cougars found the net first. Senior forward Devon Jambga scored from close in on a pass from freshman defender Nathan Cheung. However, Creighton leveled the score just over two minutes later. The defensive struggle continued until, with only nine seconds remaining, the Bluejays scored off a free kick.[7]

On August 15, the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. The Cougars were tied with the West Virginia Mountaineers as the 2nd place pick.[8]

The College Soccer News preseason poll had the Cougars renked at #21.[9]

In the "friendly" versus Northwestern, Greg Solawa gave the Cougars the early lead with an unassisted goal in the 28th minute. The evenly-matched squads remained tied until the Wildcats also scored an unassisted goal in the 58th minute. When regulation time ended at 1–1, the coaches had agreed before the match to have a penalty kick shoot-out. After six rounds, Northwestern came out on top 5–4.[10]

On August 23, Top Drawer Soccer (TDS) released its annual Preseason Men's National Top 100 list of their top 100 Division I soccer players. SIUE goalkeeper Kyle DalSanto was #100 on the list.[11] In the TDS listing of picks as the Preseason Top 20 players in the MAC, Kyle Dal Santo was #3, Devyn Jambga #5, Mohamed Awad #11, Greg Solawa #16, and Keegan McHugh #17.[12]

Season

The regular season began on August 25 with the Cougars facing two ranked opponents during the premier weekend at Korte Stadium.

On Friday night, 22nd the 22nd ranked Michigan State Spartans came to Edwardsville, looking for revenge after the Cougars knocked them out of last seasons NCAA Tournament in the first round. In a strongly defensive match, the two team allowed only twelve shots and only 4 on goal. In the 114th minute, SIUE's defense failed to corral a shot from a Spartan forward, and an MSU midfielder fired the rebound past Dal Santo. The Cougars fairly well dominated the second half, but the lone goal held up for the Michigan State victory,[13]

On the first Sunday evening of the season, the 8th ranked Syracuse Orange journeyed to Edwardsville for the first-ever match between the two sides. It was a more offensive-oriented game than the opener versus Michigan State, with the Orange taking nine shops to the Cougars' seven. SIUE was controlling the action and the ball in the 16th minute, when a weak pass was intercepted by a Syracuse forward, who immediately lofted a shot over Dal Santo and high into the net. Just over eight minutes into the second half, Golzalez fired a crossing pass; McLean settled the ball and fired it into the net to even the score. From that point, the Cougars seemed in control as the Orange was repeatedly carded for hard fouls. In the 90th minute, Jambga was decked just outside the box as he was driving on goal. The Syracuse player received a red card, and SIUE looked to be in control of their destiny with less than a minute to play in regulation time and the Orange playing short-handed. The free kick was high, but the Cougars got the ball back only to have a defender get to it and launch a clearing shot downfield. The ball took an odd bounce in the far end, going straight to the feet of a Syracuse player facing an open goal. Dal Santo dove and nearly got to the shot, but the score with only 29 seconds remaining gave the Orange the win.[14]

The Cougars traveled to Nashville to play a Sunday game at Lipscomb. The SIUE offense got off sixteen shots, ten on goal, but the Bisons' keeper was on top of his game, making nine saves on the night. Lipacomb scored first, as Sakou (who beat the Cougars in double overtime last season) took a crossing pass and buried it from ten yards out in the 53rd minute. In the 82nd minute, Gonzalez got his head on a pass from Tejada and evened the score with his first Cougar goal. Once again, the SIUE defense let up a bit in the late minutes, and Lipscomb took back the lead in the 86th minute, then held on for the win.[15]

The kickoff of the Labor Day game versus the Memphis Tigers was delayed for three hours by thunderstorms. In the 31st minute, during a mob scene in the goalmouth, McLean got a heel on the ball that barely crossed the line. It was seen by the assistant referee, who signaled the goal, giving the Cougars their first lead of the season. In the 48-49th minute, things got a bit chippy, and three yellow cards were issued in a 59-second span. In the 83rd minute, Jambga passed to Solawa, who passed to Tejada, who fired a crossing pass to McLean, who settled it and scored his second goal of the game. Following the game, coach Sanchez joked, "I think we're 2-0 in games that start after 10." Menphis outshot SIUE for the game 13 to 8, but Dal Santo made six saves in the 21st shutout of his career, tying the school record.[16]

The Saturday night game versus the Valparaiso Crusaders would have been the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams before the Cougars moved to the MAC just prior to the start of the season. The two teams of similar style tied in last season's inaugural meeting, and they were tied again after regulation time. Through 90 minutes, the defenses allowed only 5 shots for Valpo and 8 for SIUE, with only one Cougar shot being on goal. While the Cougars committed ten fouls for the game against the Crusaders' eight. the visitors were given three yellow cards. In the fourth minute of extra time, Tejada made a long downfield pass; McHugh sidestepped a defender, got to the ball and passed to McLean in the box. The Australian forward settled the ball and fired it past the keeper— it was his third goal and second game-winner of the week. With the Cougar defense preventing Valpo from taking a single shot on goal, Dal Santo got his school-record 22nd shutout.[17]

The Cougars took a trip to the East Coast to play two Ivy League schools. On Friday night, they played the Princeton Tigers, who were seeking their first win despite tying nationally ranked Syracuse (who beat SIUE on the opening weekend of the season). The Cougar defense repeatedly turned away shots, and goalkeeper Dal Santo made several spectacular plays and ranged far out of the goalmouth numerous times. In general, the Princeton offense badly outplayed the Cougars, especially in the first half. The Tigers outshot the Cougars 15–8 overall and 8–4 on goal while taking six corner kicks to SIUE's none. In the final minute of regulation time, a Princeton player thought he was fouled. When no foul was called, he returned the hit and was whistled for the foul. The free kick went to Solawa on the left of the box. He passed across the field to Tejada, who fired a crossing pass to the middle of the 6 yard box that TC Hull headed off the keeper's reaching fingers with 14 seconds left in the game, and the Cougars won their third consecutive game. Dal Santo had eight saves in his third straight shutout.[18]

The SIUE team moved to Philadelphia for a Sunday night game with the Penn Quakers. Following the game, coach Mario Sanchez said, "Unfortunately we didn't come out prepared to compete, And we got punished." The Cougars' unreadiness put Penn in control of the first half, attacking repeatedly, while SIUE's lackluster play and slipshod passing game only enhanced the home team's efforts. In the 15th minute, failure to cover or clear a blocked shot left it right at a Quakers player's feet, and he fired it into the net to give Penn the lead. In the 27th minute, a Penn player intercepted a short, slow pass, dribbled clear, and fired it across the goal and into the far corner, giving the Quakers a 2–0 advantage. Coach Sanchez was clearly seen on video to be giving emphatic oral instruction to the defender after he was subbed out. Apparently, similar instruction was given to the entire team at halftime, since the Cougars' second half play was fierce and furious; 17 shots, 9 on goal, and 10 corner kicks for the half versus 3 weak shots for Penn; SIUE had six shots on goal in the final ten minutes. Unfortunately for the Cougars, Penn's goalkeeper, Etan Mabourakh, met the challenge head-on, making nine saves to preserve the shutout victory. (To add injury to insult, Lachlan McLean left the game in the 10th minute after going to ground twice and was escorted to an ambulance, having suffered a compound fracture of his collarbone.)[19]

On a Sunday night in Chicago, the Cougars and their former Missouri Valley Conference rival, the Loyola Ramblers, played the usual defensive duel held whenever the two teams meet (10 games, 9 goals since 1992). Although getting off only three shots to Loyola's nine, Coach Sanchez called it, ",,, one of the most complete game we have played." Senior midfielder Mohamed Awad saw his first game action of the season after sitting out with injuries and had one of SIUE's two shots on goal. In the 85th minute, a Ramblers' free kick from 25 yards out was headed into the goal to give Loyola a 5–4–1 lead in the all-time series.[20]

Returning home after three road games, SIUE looked to end a two-game losing streak against Oral Roberts of The Summit League. The first half was scoreless, as each team felt out the other, with ORU taking five shots to the home side's three. As they had in Philadelphia, the Cougars came out on fire for the second half, totally dominating the Golden Eagles for the most part. SIUE's eleven shots included one off the crossbar by Tejada and one off the post by Jambga. But... the Cougars turned over the ball and were unable to clear ORU's attack, with a pass going straight to an unguarded midfielder just outside the penalty box, and he fired a crossing rocket into the far side of the net, past a diving Dal Santo in the 70th minute. Undeterred, SIUE resumed their attack, and, in the 82nd minute, Tejada, the Cougars' leading assist man, connected with Gonzalez six yards in front of the net, and the game was tied. SIUE tried to maintain the second half pressure but were unable to take the lead in regulation time. Extra time was more like the first half, as both teams tried to penetrate the other's defense. With less than two minutes remaining in the second overtime, the Cougars were again unable to clear the ball from their own end. ORU again found an open man twenty yards out, and, despite Dal Santo directly challenging him, he put it into the net to give the Golden Eagles the win.[21]

The Milwaukee Panthers of the Horizon League paid a Tuesday night visit to Korte Stadium. In the 16th minute, Gonzalez stole a pass just outside the box, moved into the box, forcing the Milwaukee keeper to commit, and fired past him to give the Cougars an early lead. The remainder of the first half was pretty evenly played. Just after the opening kickoff of the second half Awad got the ball and dropped it back to Gonzalez, who charged into the box and volleyed it into the net for his second goal of the night and a 2–0 Cougars lead. SIUE then settled into its defensive posture, and Dal Santo saved the only two shots on goal for his fourth shutout of the season and 24th of his career.[22]

SIUE played its first Homecoming game in 2008 as the school began transitioning to Division I. This year's 10th Annual Homecoming Game was also the Cougars' debut game in Mid-American Conference play versus the Bowling Green Falcons, a team that was nationally ranked earlier in the season. The game brought out the largest crowd of the season, with an estimated 3,900 fans in the stands and on the east side berm and tailgating lot. The two teams spent the first half hour of action feeling each other out. In the 32nd minute, McHugh sent a corner kick into the box that was rejected right back to him; he then found Solawa at the top of the box, and the junior midfielder slammed a screaming shot into the upper corner to put the Cougars on top. Just before halftime, BGSU had a free kick that was headed into the net to tie the score. The Cougars came out firing in the second half. In the 50th minute, Awad sent a pass into a crowd in front of the goal, and Jambga got a foot on it to send it dribbling past the Falcons' keeper for his first goal of the season – the 13th goal and 8th game-winner of his career. Sanchez said, “I joked with him that it was the most beautiful goal he has ever scored... and told him to continue to work and continue to put himself in good spots. They all count; whether it is a tap in or a deflection or a rocket.” In the 58th minute, Gonzalez extended his scoring streak with an assist when he found Solawa in the right side of the box; Solawa settled the ball and gave the home team a 3–1 lead with his second goal. Bowling Green then picked up their game by a notch or two, but the Cougars' defense settled in, and anything the back line did not turn away, Dal Santo did, racking up four saves for the second half and seven for the game. At the end of the evening SIUE had run its Homecoming Game record to 10–0–0.[23]

On October 10, sophomore midfielder Jorge Gonzalez was named the MAC Men's Soccer Co-Player of the Week.[24]

Wind and rain were abundant as the 20th ranked Butler Bulldogs of the Big East Conference made a Tuesday night visit to Korte Stadium for the two teams' fifth meeting in four seasons. The first half was evenly played except for two factors. First, the Cougars gave the Bulldogs four corner kicks to none of their own. And... in the 17th minute, Butler's keeper turned away a shot by Solawa, but did not cover it; Awad got to the loose ball beside the post and slipped it into the net for an SIUE lead. Despite the weather causing only a minuscule home crowd, the home team was dominant early in the second half. In the 60th minute, Polster took the ball away from the visitors by intercepting a long pass. The Cougars maintained possession through ten passes with only one feeble and futile clearance attempt by the Bulldogs. Hinkson took a pass in the middle just inside the box and advanced it to Jambga, who set and launched it into the far upper corner for a 2–0 Cougars lead in the 61st minute. SIUE then settled into its defense, turning away everything that Butler threw at them and counter-attacking to try to extend the lead. In the end, SIUE moved its record versus Butler to 2–1–2 and its 2017 record to 6–6–0 with five shutout wins.[25]

On Friday the 13th, the Cougars traveled to Ohio to face the MAC's traditional powerhouse, the Akron Zips, ranked 12th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com national poll and just outside the Top 25 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The SIUE defense intercepted Akron's first pass into the box, but had it taken right back. A dribble toward safety, a pass to a man in front of the goal, and a shot into the far corner put the Zips up 1–0 only 1:17 into the game. After the sudden first score, the Cougars settled down and thwarted every Akron attack, counter-attacking when any chance opened. About 59 minutes in, Jambga broke into a long run down the left side, but a defender got to the ball first and passed to the keeper as he neared the box. Jambga kept after the ball and took it away just inside the center of the 18 yard box, where he slipped a short pass to Gonzalez, who buried the ball in the net to knot the score 1–1. Less than two minutes later, the Zips had a corner kick. Although no foul was called, Da Santo looked to have been undercut and was falling to the ground as he weakly punched the ball away, sending it straight to an Akron player who headed it in, putting the home team back in the lead. The Cougars remained in strong contention until the 73rd minute. On another corner kick, Dal Santo punched the ball solidly but sent it straight to a Zip who fired a shot that a teammate redirected into the net for an insurance goal before the eventual Akron 3–1 win.[26]

The Cougars were originally going to play the IUPUI Jaguars in Indianapolis this year, but with all of the schedule juggling that took place as SIUE moved from the MVC to the MAC and IUPUI moved from the Summit League to the Horizon League, the game ended up in Edwardsville on a Wednesday night. The Jaguars entered the contest with a 0–13–0 record, and the Cougars dominated the game. Eleven SIUE players took shots, led by Gonzalez and Aguiar with 5 each, for 23 shots to IUPUI's three. The Cougars had 10 corner kicks to the Jag's one. However, the home team was unable to put even one ball into the net, aided by six saves by the visiting keeper. “The positives we take is we get a shutout,” coach Mario Sanchez said of the 0–0 final score. “We kept them from really any chances. We created ample opportunities.” Dal Santo had three saves in his sixth shutout of the season and 26th of his career.[27]

The Saturday night MAC match at Northern Illinois was the 21st all-time meeting between the two schools, but it was their first conference game since both were members of the Big Central Soccer Conference in 1987–89. After a mostly evenly played first half, the Cougars fairly well outplayed the Huskies in the second, outshooting the hosts 10–6 and on-goal 3–1, but, as on Wednesday, they were unable to put the ball in the net. In the 74th minute, Gonzalez and NIU's Smith battled hard for the ball near mid-field. Gonzalez was whistled for a foul, but Smith shoved him, and the two got into a shoving match. While players and the referee separated the two, another Huskie hit Gonzalez from behind, apparently without being seen by the officials. Gonzalez and Smith were both red-carded and sent off. When coach Sanchez and the Cougar players argued that the other offending NIU player should also be penalized, the SIUE bench received a yellow card. Regulation time ended with the score tied 0–0. In the 98th minute, McHugh took a corner kick that Jambga headed into the net for the ninth game-winning goal of his career. With three saves, Dal Santo got his seventh shutout of the season.[28]

The prospects for the Cougars' Western Michigan were not good. The Broncos were ranked #6 in the nation, and SIUE was missing both top scorer Gonzalez (after he was red-carded at NIU) and #2 scorer McLean (still out with a broken collarbone). As might be expected, WMU dominated play for most of the game. In the 21st minute, the Broncos headed a corner kick past the defenders to take the lead. “It’s disappointing,” coach Sanchez said. “We worked on (defending) those corner kicks this week.” Despite being hard-pressed, the Cougars defense held firm, and Dal Santo made four saves to maintain the 1–0 margin. With the win, Western Michigan clinched its first-ever Mid-American Conference regular season men's soccer championship.[29]

Senior Night saw another first meeting with a new conference-mate as West Virginia paid its first visit to Korte Stadium, and SIUE was still missing its two top scorers. The Mountaineers scored first on a penalty shot, when the Cougars were called for a foul in the box in the 25th minute. SIUE turned up the pressure in the second half, outshooting WVU 8–4 (13–9 for the game), and leveled the score in the 57th minute when Johan dePicker buried a crossing pass from Greg Solawa. Despite working and trying hard, the Cougars were unable to take the lead, and the game went into overtime. In the 8th minute of extra time, the Mountaineer managed to corral a loose ball in front of the SIUE goal and score the goal that ensured both teams being in the MAC tournament.[30]

Postseason

On the day before the start of the 2017 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament, the conference announced the season's awards. Cougars senior forward Devon Jambga was named to the All-MAC First Team; junior defender Johan DePicker and sophomore midfielder Jorge Gonzalez were named to the All-MAC Second Team.[31]

The postseason began with the 2017 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament semifinals on November 10, 2017.

The 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship will begin on November 16 and end with the four-team College Cup finals that will be played at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania on December 8 and 10, 2017.[32]

The third-seeded Cougars met 7th-ranked and second-seeded Akron in the MAC Tournament semifinals. After a first half that was scoreless in spite of 9 shots taken by Akron and 4 by SIUE, the Cougars jumped out on top in the 56th minute when Greg Solawa controlled the rebound of a saved Johan dePicker shot and put it past the Zips' keeper. After falling behind, Akron seemingly redoubled their relentless attacking, while SIUE's defense turned them away again and again. But, in the final minute of regulation time, a seeming Cougars throw-in was instead awarded to the Zips, and Akron finally got a shot past the surprised and off-balanced Cougars defense and Kyle Dal Santo to send the game into overtime. Halfway through the second overtime period, Akron star Stuart Holthusen made an all-star zig-zag run and scored the "golden" goal, putting the Zips in the tournament final and ending the Cougars' season.[33]

Coaches

2017 was Mario Sanchez' third year as the Cougars' head coach. Jeremy Proud was in his second season as assistant coach and Simon Bird was in his first.[34] Scott Gyllenberg, after his third season as assistant coach, was hired away to become the head coach of the Division II Bearcats of McKendree University.

Roster

Source: [35][36]

Buff background indicates returning players from 2016. Pink background indicates players "redshirted" in 2016.

#	Name	Nationality	Height	Weight	Class	Hometown	High School	Academy/Club	Transfer from
Goalkeepers
1	Kyle Dal Santo		5'11"	155	R-Senior	Bolingbrook, Illinois	Benet Academy	Chicago Fire
30	Nathan Chalus		6' 2"	195	R-Freshman	Carol Stream, Illinois	Glenbard North	Chicago Inferno
31	Lluìs Martorell		6' 2"	170	Freshman	Barcelona, Spain	Collegi Sant Miquel	Unificació Bellvitge Club U19
Defenders
4	Kashaun Smith		5'11"	150	Sophomore	Kingston, Jamaica	Wolmer's Boys'
6	Johan De Picker		6'4"	160	Junior	Brussels, Belgium	Ocean Lakes (VA)	Des Moines Menace	Old Dominion
15	Austin Polster		6' 1"	155	Senior	Las Vegas, Nevada	Palo Verde	Region IV Olympic Development Program	Wright State
21	Sander Heieren		5'11"	175	Sophomore	Fredrikstad. Norway		Fredrikstad Fotballklubb Juniortropp	Maryville
2	Nathan Chueng		5' 6"	140	Freshman	Springfield, Illinois	Springfield	Scott Gallagher Metro
3	Noah Fetter		5'11"	155	Freshman	Overland Park, Kansas	Blue Valley Northwest
Midfielders
5	Carl Hinkson		5'10"	155	Junior	St. George, Barbados	Harrison College	Barbados Soccer Academy
8	Orlando Arreola		5' 8"	165	Freshman	Cobden, Illinois	Anna-Jonesboro	Scott Gallagher Metro
10	Keegan McHugh		5'11"	160	R-Junior	St. Charles, Missouri	Francis Howell	St. Louis Scott Gallagher
11	Jorge Gonzalez		5'10"	165	Sophomore	Valencia, Spain	Cumbres School		Mercyhurst
12	Gabe Christianson		6'	140	R-Senior #	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	Kennedy	Eastern Iowa United, Des Moines Menace	Northern Illinois
16	Ian Cerro		5' 8"	135	Sophomore	Aurora, Colorado	Grandview	Colorado Storm Academy
17	Stoil Ganev		5' 7"	130	R-Freshman	Plymouth, Minnesota	Breck School	Minnesota Thunder Development Academy
18	Kyle Swanner		5' 9"	170	Freshman	Glen Carbon, Illinois	Edwardsville	Scott Gallagher Metro
19	Colin Hilpert		5'10"	160	Freshman	Fenton, Missouri	Rockwood Summit	Saint Louis Scott Gallagher
20	Mohamed Awad		5' 7"	145	Senior	Hamilton, New Zealand	Hamilton Boys'		St John's
22	Victor Aguiar		5'10"	160	Senior	Boca Raton, Florida	Olympic Heights		UNC Asheville
26	Greg Solawa		5' 7"	140	Junior	Niles, Illinois	Niles West	Chicago Magic	Ohio State
Forwards
7	Lachlan McLean		6'	180	Sophomore	Sydney, Australia	St Augustine's College	U-20 National Premier League
9	Devyn Jambga		6'	175	R-Senior	Harare, Zimbabwe	Harare International School	Des Moines Menace
13	Joel Duncan		6"	155	R-Senior	Mt. Vernon, Illinois	Mt. Vernon	Scott Gallagher Metro
14	Eric Tejada		5' 8"	145	Sophomore	Collinsville, Illinois	Collinsville	U.S. Soccer Development Academy
23	Thomas "TC" Hull		5' 9"	150	R-Junior	St. Charles, Illinois	St. Charles East	Campton United SC
24	Nylo Clarke		5'10"	175	Freshman	Kansas City, Missouri.	Park Hills South	KC Blaze Academy Strikeforce

• = Players "redshirted' for the 2017 season.
• # = Originally listed in 2016 as a redshirt senior, Gabe Christianson was reclassified as a junior by the NCAA in mid-season due to his having missed the entire 2014 and 2015 seasons with injuries.

Schedule & results

Source = [37]

Visiting team on the left, home team on the right. Rankings from the United Soccer Coaches polls.

Exhibitions

08/12/2017	SIUE	1–2	#14 Creighton	Omaha, Nebraska
7:00 PM CDT	Christianson  50' Jambga  68' (Cheung)	Report	Lopez-Espin  72' Lopez-Espin  98' (Rydstrand)	Stadium: Morrison Stadium Attendance: 1,209 Referee: Jason Francois

08/18/2017	Northwestern	^(PKs 5–4)1–1 (a.e.t.)	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	McLeod  47' Moderwell  58' Wahlfeldt  81'	Report	Tejada  17' Solawa  28' Polster  52' McHugh  56' McHugh  100'	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 1,085 Referee: Ryan Ash
	Penalties
	Tomasino Viscomi Buescher Miskovic Ozumba McLeod		McHugh McLean Solawa Jambga DePicker Polster

Regular season

08/25/2017	#22 Michigan State	1–0	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	G. Barone  14' (Sierakowski) Pimlott  24' G. Barone  85'	Report	Gonzalez  33' Tejada  51'	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 670 Referee: Elvis Mahmutovic

08/27/2017	#8 Syracuse	2–1	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
6:00 PM CDT	Piele  16' (unassisted) Miller  57' Adams  63' Norheim  90' Stangeland  90' (unassisted) Hilpert  90'	Report	McLean  49' (Gonzalez)	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 377 Referee: Tomicich

09/02/2017	SIUE	1–2	Lipscomb	Nashville, Tennessee
7:00 PM CDT	Tejada  78' Gonzalez  82' (Tejada)	Report	Sakou  53' (Paynter) Smith  78' Paynter  86' (Kerridge)	Stadium: Lipscomb Soccer Complex Attendance: 255 Referee: Khadime Sabara

09/04/2017	Memphis	0–2	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 10:00 PM CDT	Morise  48' Fahling  49'	Report	McLean  31' (Tejada) Heieren  49' Smith  65' McLean  84' (Tejada)	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Shane Butler

09/09/2017	Valparaiso	0–1 ^(ot)	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
6:00 PM CDT	King  38' Team bench  80' Simon  90'	Report	McLean  93' (McHugh)	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 310 Referee: Evlis Mahmutovic

09/15/2017	SIUE	1–0	Princeton	Princeton, New Jersey
6:00 PM CDT	Hull  90' (Tejada)	Report		Stadium: Roberts Stadium Attendance: 564 Referee: John Barr

09/17/2017	SIUE	0–2	Penn	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6:00 PM CDT		Report	Swenson  15' (unassisted) Kohlbrenner  27' (unassisted)	Stadium: Rhodes Field Attendance: 216 Referee: Andrew Dennis

09/23/2017	SIUE	0–1	Loyola Chicago	Chicago, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	Solawa  60'	Report	Imrie  49' Magno  49' Thomson  85' (Lifka) Bartlett  49'	Stadium: Loyola Soccer Park Attendance: 577 Referee: Dimitar Chavdarov

09/30/2017	Oral Roberts	2–1^(2ot)	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	Riveros  70' (Nicholls) Castro  105' Brigida  109' (Castro)	Report	Castro  81' (Tejada)	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 262 Referee: Dule Djurasevic

10/03/2017	Milwaukee	0–2	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	Fennefoss  71' Kelderman  72'	Report	Gonzalez  16' (unassisted) Gonzalez  46' (Awad) DePicker  50' Christianson  71'	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 480 Referee: Ryan Ash

10/07/2017 Homecoming	Bowling Green *	1–3	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	Mustafa  45' (Robertson)	Report	Solawa  32' (McHugh) Team  45' Jambga  50' (Awad) Solawa  58' (Gonzalez) Smith  74'	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 3,900 Referee: Eulogio Villalpando

10/10/2017	#20 Butler	0–2	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	Moulden  17'	Report	Awad  17' (Solawa) Jambga  61' (Hinkson) Solawa  85' Polster  86'	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 105 Referee: Heber Estrada

10/13/2017	SIUE	1–3	#rv Akron *	Akron, Ohio
6:00 PM CDT	Smith  44' Hinkson  49' Gonzalez  60' (Jambga)	Report	Zajac  2' (Harter) Moutinho  50' Moutinho  62' (Harter) Moutinho  73' (Belana & Harter)	Stadium: FirstEnergy Stadium Attendance: 1560 Referee: Sergio Gonzalez

10/18/2017	IUPUI	0–0^(2ot)	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	Catenacci  106'	Report	Polster  98'	Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium Attendance: 235 Referee:  98'

10/18/2017	SIUE	1–0^(ot)	Northern Illinois *	DeKalb, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT	Hinkson  64' Gonzalez  75' Team  75' Jambga  97' (McHugh)	Report	Smith  75'	Stadium: NIU Soccer Complex Attendance: 321 Referee: Carlin Radosav

10/28/2017	SIUE	0–1	#6 Western Michigan *	Kalamazoo, Michigan
6:00 PM CDT		Report	Thornton  21' (Clark)	Stadium: WMU Soccer Complex Attendance: 594 Referee: Mike Allie

10/04/2017 Senior Night	West Virginia *	2–1^(ot)	SIUE	Edwardsville, Illinois
7:00 PM CDT		[ Report]		Stadium: Ralph Korte Stadium

• * = Mid-American Conference opponent.

Postseason

Mid-American Conference Men's Soccer Tournament

11/10/2017 Semifinal	SIUE	1–2 ^(2ot)	#7 Akron	Kalamazoo, Michigan
10:00 AM CDT	Solawa  56' (DePicker)	[ Report]	Harter  09' (Shultz) Egbo  97' Shultz  102' Hulthusen  106' (Kahsay)	Stadium: WMU Soccer Complex Attendance: 479 Referee: Christopher Koloffon

Statistics

Source: [38]

Field Players
#	Name	Games	Starts	Goals	Assists	Points	Shots	Shot %age	Shots On Goal	OG %age	Penalty Kicks	Game Winners	Yellow cards	Red cards
1	Kyle Dal Santo	18	18	0	0	0	0	—	0	—	0	0	0	0
4	Kashaun Smith	16	16	0	0	0	2	0.000	2	1.000	0	0	3	0
5	Carl Hinkson	13	11	0	1	1	2	.000	1	.500	0	0	2	0
6	Johan De Picker	18	16	1	1	2	9	.111	4	.444	0	0	1	0
7	Lachlan McLean	7	7	4	0	8	10	.400	6	.600	0	2	0	0
8	Orlando Arreola	15	6	0	0	0	3	0.000	0	0.000	0	0	0	0
9	Devyn Jambga	18	15	3	1	7	30	.100	12	.400	0	2	1	0
10	Keegan McHugh	18	15	0	3	3	9	0.000	1	.111	0	0	1	0
11	Jorge Gonzalez	16	15	5	2	12	43	.115	18	.419	0	1	1	1
12	Gabe Christianson	15	15	0	0	0	6	0.000	0	0.000	0	0	1	0
13	Joel Duncan	18	2	0	0	0	9	0.000	5	.556	0	0	0	0
14	Eric Tejada	17	10	0	5	5	3	0.000	0	0.000	0	0	2	0
15	Austin Polster	17	4	0	0	0	5	0.000	2	.400	0	0	3	0
17	Stoil Ganev	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	—	0	0	0	0
19	Colin Hilpert	6	2	0	0	0	1	0.000	1	1.000	0	0	0	0
20	Mohamed Awad	11	11	1	2	4	14	.071	5	.357	0	1	0	0
21	Sander Heieren	18	17	0	0	0	11	0.000	7	.636	0	0	1	0
22	Victor Aguiar	13	0	0	0	0	8	0.000	1	.125	0	0	0	0
23	Thomas "TC" Hull	13	2	1	0	0	6	.167	2	.333	0	1	0	0
26	Greg Solawa	18	17	3	2	8	21	.143	8	.381	0	0	2	0
30	Nathan Chalus	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	—	0	0	0	0
—	Team	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	—	0	0	2	0
	Totals	18	18	18	17	53	192	.094	75	.391	0–0	7	19	1
	Opponents	18	18	19	15	53	198	.096	75	.379	1–1	10	25	2
Goalkeepers
#	Name	Games	Starts	Minutes	Goals Against	GA Average	Saves	Save %age	Wins	Loses	Tie	Shutouts	Yellow Cards	Red Cards
2	Kyle Dal Santo	18	18	1693:01	19	1.01	55	.743	7	10	1	7	0	0
30	Nathan Chalus	0	0	00	0	—	0	—	0	0	0	0	0	0
—	Team	0	0	0	0	—	1	—	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	18	18	1693:01	19	1.01	56	.747	7	10	1	7	0	0
	Opponents	19	19	1693:01	18	964	57	.760	10	7	1	5	0	0

Additional stats	Corner kicks	Offsides	Fouls	Goals/game
SIUE	68	19	195	1.000
Opponents	89	12	166	1.056

See also

• 2017 Mid-American Conference men's soccer season

References

1. "SIU-Edwardsville joins Mid-American Conference as affiliate member in two sports". Hustle Belt/Vox Media, Inc. June 2, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
2. "SIUE men's soccer to join MAC immediately". The Telegraph. June 8, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
3. "Men's Soccer". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
4. "2017 SIUE Men's Soccer Roster". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
5. "'NEW TEAM VIBE': SIUE kickers preparing to build on Sweet 16 appearance". The Telegraph. March 21, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
6. "Men's Soccer Reveals 2017 Schedule". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
7. "COLLEGE MEN'S SOCCER: Cougars drop exhibition at No. 14 Creighton". The Telegraph. August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
8. "MAC ANNOUNCES 2017 MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL". Mid-Amertican Conference. August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
9. "College Soccer News 2017 Preseason National Poll". CollegeSoccerNews.com. August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
10. "MEN'S COLLEGE SOCCER: Northwestern edges Cougars in penalty kicks". The Telegraph. August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
11. "Men's National Top 100 Preseason". TopDrawerSoccer.com. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
12. "Men's Conference Top 20 Preseason". TopDrawerSoccer.com. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
13. "No. 22 MSU Men's Soccer Opens Season with 1-0 Win Over SIUE". CBS Interactive. August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
14. "Petter Stangeland's 89th-minute goal gives No. 8 Syracuse 2-1 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardswille". The Daily Orange. August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
15. "COLLEGE MEN'S SOCCER: Cougars fall at Lipscomb". The Telegraph. September 3, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
16. "MEN'S SOCCER: Cougars beat Memphis for first win". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
17. "COLLEGE SOCCER: McLean's golden goal lifts SIUE over Valpo in OT". The Telegraph. September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
18. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Hull's last-minute goal gives SIUE 1-0 win at Princeton". The Telegraph. September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
19. "Penn men's soccer survives a barrage of second half shots to earn first win". The Daily Pennsylvanian. September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
20. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Cougar play 'complete game,' but fall at Loyola". The Telegraph. September 24, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
21. "COLLEGE SOCCER: ORU hangs 2-1 overtime loss on Cougars". The Telegraph. October 1, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
22. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Gonzalez scores twice to lead SIUE past Milwaukee". The Telegraph. October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
23. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Big Homecoming crowd sees SIUE beat Bowling Green in MAC opener". The Telegraph. October 8, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
24. "MAC AannouncesS Men's Soccer Co-Player of the Week". Mid-American Conference. October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
25. "COLLEGE SOCCER: SIUE downs No. 20 Butler 2-0". The Telegraph. October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
26. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Cougars beaten at No. 12 Akron 3-1". The Telegraph. October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
27. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Cougars, IUPUI play to scoreless draw". The Telegraph. October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
28. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Jambga's OT goal lifts SIUE past Northern Illinois, 1-0". The Telegraph. October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
29. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Cougars fall to No. 6 Western Michigan, 1-0". The Telegraph. October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
30. "COLLEGE SOCCER: Cougars drop season finale to West Virginia, await MAC Tourney". The Telegraph. November 5, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
31. "2017 MAC MEN'S SOCCER POSTSEASON AWARDS ANNOUNCED". Mid-American Conference. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
32. Boehm, Charles (December 29, 2016). "2017 Soccer Almanac: The dates to circle on the calendar in the coming year". Major League Soccer. MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
33. "COLLEGE SOCCER: No. 7 Akron gets past SIUE in double OT 2-1 in MAC Tourney semifinal". The Telegraph. November 10, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
34. "Men's Soccer Coaches". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
35. "SIUE (Men's)". Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
36. "2017 SIUE Men's Soccer Roster". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
37. "2017 SIUE Men's Soccer Schedule". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
38. "SIUE Men's Soccer Statistics". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved 10 November 2017.