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Davenport University Athletics

DAVENPORT UNIVERSITY PANTHERS
MSOC Preview Week 5

Men's Soccer Anthony Clark Jr., Assistant Manager of Athletic Communications

Preview: Halfway point nears as DU faces weekend road trip

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Davenport University men's soccer (4-3-1, 1-1 GLIAC) hits the road this week for GLIAC contests with the season's halfway point inching closer.

A trivial loss to No. 13 SVSU was followed up by an impressive win over Roosevelt University last week. Easton Lopez (No. 4) and Andrew Dykstra (No. 8) remain in the top 10 of the conference leaderboards for goal total with Dykstra marking his second game-winning goal - the latest coming against Roosevelt - to tie him for the most in the GLIAC. Jacob Lee has taken over the starting goalkeeper position since Sept. 25 for three total appearances this season, making six saves while facing 35 shots for a 2-1 record.

DU has dealt with a share of injuries this season, relying on a mixture of key returns and first-year Panthers to fill the gaps as they trek deeper into conference play.

PNW Matchup
The Pride comes off a historical 2023 season after winning its first conference tournament title and earning its first NCAA Division II Tournament berth. Historical moments have continued, as the team earned its first national ranking (No. 8) this season after defeating then-No. 4 Lewis and then-No. 17 Illinois Springfield in week one. However, PNW has lost its top-25 position in recent polls with just one win since Sept. 17 for a 3-3-1 overall record (0-2-1 GLIAC).

Jacob Battista is tied for third in the conference with a team-leading four goals through seven matches - sharing a spot in the top 50 of the national individual leaderboards at 39th overall. Teammates Christian Booth and Rami Hassahn Zantout are close behind with three and two goals, respectively.  Battista was named Second Team All-GLIAC with the 2023 GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year, Hugo Lorenzo, also returning to the 2024 lineup. Defensively, Tomas Rozman has started and played all but nearly 30 minutes in goal thus far, making 21 saves and allowing nine goals on 61 shots faced.

Oct. 4 will be the 13th all-time meeting for the Pride and Panthers, split evenly at 6-6 overall without a single draw, as PNW gears up for a two-match homestand this weekend.

Parkside Matchup
Tabbed at No. 21 in the national rankings for their highest position this year, the Rangers fell out of the top 25 but are still receiving votes after suffering their first loss in a 4-3 decision at St. Cloud State (Sept. 27) and rebounding with a 1-0 victory at Northern Michigan (Sept. 29) in their recent outings. 

Chris Estrada (2023 Second Team All-GLIAC) and Eduardo Aguilera-Guillen share the top spot for Parkside's leading scores with three each, followed by Jules Peycelon (2023 First Team All-GLIAC) and Paco Piscaglia with two apiece. Mario Bolado logged the game-winner at NMU for his sixth score as a Ranger. Daniyal Rana currently has the best goals-against average in the conference at 0.75 after allowing three goals on 61 shots faced while making 14 saves overall.

Parkside leads the historical series 8-5-1 with the Panthers taking the last meeting, 3-2, on the road as Oct. 6 will mark the 15th matchup in history.

Live Coverage
Friday, Oct. 4 at Purdue Northwest (4 PM EST) - Live Video (FloSports) - Live Stats
Sunday, Oct. 6 at Parkside (3:30 PM EST) - Live Video (FloSports) - Live Stats

 
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Players Mentioned

Andrew Dykstra

#9 Andrew Dykstra

F
6' 3"
Junior
Jacob Lee

#00 Jacob Lee

GK
6' 5"
Senior
Easton Lopez

#23 Easton Lopez

MF
5' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Andrew Dykstra

#9 Andrew Dykstra

6' 3"
Junior
F
Jacob Lee

#00 Jacob Lee

6' 5"
Senior
GK
Easton Lopez

#23 Easton Lopez

5' 9"
Freshman
MF