WAYLAND BAPTIST
Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.
LIVE STATS / VIDEO / TICKETS

DRURY
Sept. 3 at 5 p.m.
LIVE STATS

GAME NOTES

CANYON, Texas. –  The 2016 edition of the West Texas A&M men's soccer team will open the season at home against Wayland Baptist on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. before traveling to Drury on Saturday, Sept. 3. It marks the sixth time in the past seven seasons that WT has opened the season at home.
          
What is Next?...
The Buffs will host Huston-Tillotson Friday, Sept. 9 for a non-conference home contest before Colorado State-Pueblo comes to town on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 12 p.m.
          
About Wayland Baptist…
 The Pioneers return 16 players from last season's 7-8-2 season that lost in the first round of the conference tournament. WBU added 14 new players this fall from Argentina, Scotland, North Sudan, Uruguay, England, Spain and Texas.
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The Series with Wayland Baptist…
 WT and Wayland Baptist meet for the second time in school history. In the only contest, the Buffs defeated the Pioneers 4-1, on Sept. 30, 2012 in Canyon.
 
About Drury…
Ryan Swan enters his eighth season as the head coach of a Panthers program that finished 7-9-2 overall and 7-7-2 in Great Lakes Conference play in 2015. DU return its leading scorer from last year in forward Ben Bruce, who scored five goals and four assists a junior. Joining the Ullapool, Scotland native upfront will be junior Charles Guelly and Antoine Vial. Senior David Cross will anchor the defense while adding an offensive option after scoring two goals last season.
 
The Series with Drury…
 The Buffs and Panthers will face off against each other for the fourth time in program history and first in 20 years. WT leads the series 3-0-0 while defeating DU, 33-2, at home on Oct. 25, 1996.
 
Battle of the Winning Percentages…
The Buffs matchup against Drury will be feature a matchup between two of the most consistent winning coaches in all of Division II. Butch Lauffer enters the season with a .670 while DU's eighth-year head coach Ryan Sawn has won .679 percent of his games. The duo rank 16^th and 21^st respectively among active coaches.
 
Starters Returning…
 The Buffs return nine players from last year's squad including all four players that started 16 matches together on the backline. Christian Suthers is back for his senior year after leading WT in goals (5) and points (12) last season while missing the last part of the season with a knee injury. Jake Wiffen and Ivan Ulloa led the team in assists (4) last season and will look to add on that total early and often.
 Tom Cowling, Chris Johnson, Ryan Kennedy and Tom Vickers played some of their best soccer during the Buffs six-match winning streak in 2015 including three consecutive shutouts. Junior Patrick Satorie returns for his second consecutive season as the starter between the goal. The Blackburn, Australia native enters the campaign with a career 1.32 goals against average and .727 save percentage.
 
Newcomers Join the Herd…
 The Buffs added 14 new players this fall including seven juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen. The incoming recruiting class hails from Denmark, France, England, Brazil and Texas. Sophomore Ruben Nielsen will be relied on to score goals upfront for the Buffs while Simon Sebbah and Mirza Dizdarevic add depth in the midfield. Troy Reeves will add more depth to an already experience laden backline after sitting out last year due to NCAA rules. Josh Palm and Lewis Tillman Jr. come to WT after spending the previous two years playing at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College while Brazilians Felipe Silva and Rafael Vasconcellos come to WT from Notre Dame College in Ohio.
          
Home Sweet Home…
The Buffs will start their season at home for the sixth time in seven years after opening the season on the road against conference foe St. Mary's last year. They are 4-1 in those matches including a 12-0 defeat over the University of Southwest in 2010. It marks the ninth time in program history that WT will open the season with an opponent from Texas.
 
The Journey to 300…
Head coach Butch Lauffer enters his 26^th season at the helm of WT men's soccer 10 wins shorts of 300 for his career. Lauffer joins Bob Schneider as the longest tenured coach in school history as he looks to become the 12th active Division II men's coach with 300 or more wins.
 
Lauffer in the Record Books…
Lauffer will enter the 2016 season with the 16^th best winning percentage (.670) and 13^th most wins (290) among active Division II coaches. All-time his 290 wins are the 26^th most while his .670 win percentage ranks him 28^th all-time.
 
23 Straight Winning Seasons…
WT clinched its 23^rd consecutive winning season with a 2-1 victory over rival Eastern New Mexico on Oct. 21, 2015 at The Pitch. Jake Wiffen scored the game winner just minutes after ENMU had tied the match at 1-1 in the 55^th minute.
 
Buffs Picked Third in Heartland Preseason Poll…
The Buffs joined Midwestern State, Eastern New Mexico and UT Permian Basin as affiliate members of the Heartland conference in 2016. WT was picked to finish third in the preseason poll that was released at the beginning August finishing behind national powerhouses MSU and St. Edward's. SEU won the regular season and tournament championships last season and return a handful of starters including All-American goalkeeper Kevin Lieb.
 
Heartland in the Rankings…
Midwestern State and St. Edward's were both ranked in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25 released on Aug. 2. The Mustangs enter the season ranked seventh after finishing the 2015 season 17-1-1  with an appearance in the South Central Regional Championship match. The defending Heartland champions, St. Edward's, will enter the 2016 ranked 14^th after finishing the 2015 season with a record of 15-3-2.
 Both teams are ranked in the top 25 in the Hero Sports Division II Men's Soccer Poll. SEU is ranked eighth while MSU sits 12.