Wolverines to Open 20th Season Hosting Florida Gulf Coast, SIUE

Friday, August 30

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

Florida Gulf Coast

Men's Soccer Locker Room Ball on Couch Generic

Wolverines to Open 20th Season Hosting Florida Gulf Coast, SIUE

8/28/2019 12:28:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Brad Rudner

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PROMOTIONS
• Aug. 30: Dollar Day Doubleheader
• Sept. 2: Back to School Bash
• Full Promotions Schedule

The No. 24-ranked University of Michigan men's soccer team is set to open its 20th season of varsity competition this holiday weekend at U-M Soccer Stadium, hosting Florida Gulf Coast on Friday (Aug. 30) at 7:30 p.m. and SIU-Edwardsville on Monday (Sept. 2) at 1 p.m.

Friday's match with Florida Gulf Coast is a Dollar Day Doubleheader with the U-M women's soccer team, which will play Florida Gulf Coast at 5 p.m. All general admission tickets and select concessions are $1.

Monday's Labor Day duel with SIU-Edwardsville is the Back to School Bash, which will feature a Kids Zone, postgame penalty kicks and postgame autographs.

Team Notes

• Michigan enters its 20th season of varsity competition with a 183-153-43 overall record. Over the last two seasons, U-M is 24-11-6 with a Big Ten title in 2017 and has earned berths to the NCAA Tournament in each season.

• Eighteen student-athletes return from last year's roster, including five who started at least 10 matches (Jack Hallahan, Umar Farouk Osman, Marc Ybarra, Jackson Ragen, Austin Swiech). Two other players -- Mohammed Zakyi and Andrew Verdi -- made 10-plus starts in 2017.

• The Wolverines played two exhibition matches during the preseason, both on the road. They split the contests as Michigan defeated Cincinnati, 2-1 on Aug. 17 and fell, 3-2, to No. 3-ranked Akron on Aug. 23.

• Senior Jack Hallahan enters the season ranked seventh in program history in points (57) after he tallied 17 goals and 15 assists over the last two seasons. This preseason, Hallahan was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and is a preseason All-American (first team) by both College Soccer News and TopDrawerSoccer.com.

• Juniors Joel Harrison, Umar Farouk Osman and Marc Ybarra will share the captain's armband this season. Osman and Ybarra started all 21 matches last season, while Harrison is primed for a larger role after he spent much of his first two seasons recovering from injuries.

• A major addition to the squad is graduate student Nebojsa Popovic, who has one year of eligibility remaining after he transferred from Oakland University. Popovic was an All-Horizon League (second team) and United Soccer Coaches All-North Region (third team) selection last year after he appeared in all 18 matches and led the Golden Grizzlies in points (19). In three years at Oakland, Popovic had 14 goals and 16 assists.

• The roster features nine freshmen: forward Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi (Dearborn, Michigan), defender Brennan Callow (Cincinnati, Ohio), goalkeeper Owen Finnerty (Walled Lake, Michigan), defender Carter Payne (Phoenix, Arizona), midfielder Harry Pithers (Tampa, Florida), forward Christian Pulselli (Pembroke, Massachusetts), midfielder Evan Rasmussen (Libertyville, Illinois), midfielder Inaki Rodriguez (Santiago, Chile) and defender Ryan Schultz (Short Hills, New Jersey).

Opponent Preview

Florida Gulf Coast went 9-5-2 last season and won the Atlantic Sun title. The Eagles were picked to finish second in the 2019 ASUN preseason coaches poll. Forward Shak Adams (eight goals, eight assists in 2018) was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year, while Gustavo Vasconcelos (.782 goals-against average, three shutouts) was the league's Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Defender/midfielder Kareem Riley and defender O'Vonte Mullings also made the preseason All-Conference Team.

Series: Michigan is 0-0-1 all-time against Florida Gulf Coast. The two teams played to a 2-2 draw on Aug. 29, 2016, in Fort Myers, Florida.

SIU-Edwardsville went 9-5-4 last season and tied for fourth place in the Mid-American Conference. Seniors Lachlan McLean (9G, 5A in 2018) and Jorge Gonzalez (8G, 1A in 2018) lead the attack, while junior Noah Heim (1.21 GAA, six shutouts) returns in net. The Cougars open the season on Friday (Aug. 30) at Michigan State.

Series: This will be the first meeting between the two schools.

Up Next

Friday, Sept. 6 -- vs. Cornell (U-M Soccer Stadium), 5 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 8 -- vs. Washington (U-M Soccer Stadium), 6 p.m.