CANYON, TEXAS – West Texas A&M Men's Soccer opens their 2026 campaign as they take on a trio of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) opponents. WT will host Adams State and Fort Lewis College at The Pitch on Thursday, August 27 and Saturday, August 29 before traveling to Lakewood, Colorado to take on Colorado Chrisitan on Tuesday, September 1. Thursday's game is set for 12:00 p.m. with Saturday's game taking place at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday's game will kick off at 3:00 p.m. CT.
 
Follow the Buffs
Thursday's game and Saturday's game will be streamed live on Flo Sports (registration required). Tuesday's game will be streamed live on the RMAC Network (registration required). Live Stats will be provided by West Texas A&M on Thursday and Saturday while Colorado Christian will provide them on Tuesday. Tickets for the two home games can be purchased here.
 
LSC Preseason Poll
Coming into this season, West Texas A&M was projected to finish seventh in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) Preseason Poll. The Buffs produced a 6-9-2 record with a 3-5-2 mark in conference play as they finished seventh in the standings. WT reached the LSC Tournament for the seventh straight season but would fall 2-1 to Lubbock Christian in the quarterfinals.
 
2026 LSC Preseason Poll
1          Midwestern State (351 points, 30 first-place votes)
2          St. Edward's (293 points)
3          UT Dallas (290 points, two first-place votes)
4          Lubbock Christian (241 points, one first-place vote)
5          UT Tyler (198 points)
6          DBU (187 points)
7          West Texas A&M (175 points)                              
8          St. Mary's (161 points)                                       
9          Oklahoma Christian (133 points)                    
10        Sul Ross State (75 points)                                
11        Texas A&M International (74 points)                
 
Head Coach Butch Lauffer enters his 36th season with WT ahead of the 2026 season. Since 2016, Lauffer and the Buffs have made the conference tournament every year (three Heartland Conference & seven LSC) and accumulated a 98-52-28 record in that span with three NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Senior Felix Casas was named the Offensive Player to Watch for West Texas A&M. Casas enters his second season with the Buffs after transferring from UT Rio Grande Valley. He played in 15 games a season ago while making six starts. Casas logged 479 minutes and totaled four points from two goal to go with seven shots (five on goal).
 
Sophomore defenseman Octavio Estrada-Vazquez was named the Defensive Player to Watch for the Buffs. Estrada-Vazquez is coming off an impressive freshman campaign where he played all 17 games with 16 starts on the backline. He would finish second on the team in minutes with 1432 and played all 90 minutes in 13 games.
 
Senior Luke Southerington was named the Goalkeeper to Watch for WT. Southerington did not appear in any games last season but started and played in 12 games in 2024. He produced 44 saves with a 1.25 goals-against average in 1078 minutes while tallying three shutouts.
 
Captaining the Buffs in 2026 will be seniors D'Jonte Davis and Ben Scotford. Davis is the lone returning All-LSC honoree for WT who had a breakout season in 2025. He started all 17 games while finishing third on the team in minutes with 1384. The Prosper, Texas native led the Buffs in points (14), goals (six), assists (two), shots (38), and shots on goal (20) as he earned Third Team All-LSC. Scotford returns for his second season with WT after starting and playing 13 games in the midfield in 2025. He tallied six points from three goals to go with 19 shots (11 on goal) in 828 minutes. The Monmouth, Wales native was second on the team in shots and shots on goal while being third in points.
 
Other notable returners for the Buffs will be seniors Desire Essis, Zach Kos, Joe Ballenger, and junior Delahmu Reeves. Essis finished second on the team in points after producing three goals and an assist at forward. He started eight games and notched 544 minutes with 14 shots. Kos started nine games in goal for WT in 2025 and recorded a 1.11 goals against average with 36 saves on a 78.3 save percentage. The defenseman Ballenger started five of 15 games with 679 minutes of action. Reeves produced three points from a goal and assist along with 15 shots (seven on goal) in 480 minutes at forward.
 
Season Opener
Thursday's season opener will mark the beginning of the 36th season of Buff Soccer. WT holds a 25-5-4 all-time record in season openers with a 16-4-1 record at The Pitch. West Texas A&M is 2-1-2 over their last five season openers with a current two-game unbeaten streak. The Buffs have never opened their season against Adams State.
 
Series History
Thursday's game against Adams State will be the third all-time meeting between the programs with the Buffs leading the series 2-0-0. The teams last played in 2023 where the WT came away with a 6-0 victory at The Pitch.
 
Saturday's match against Fort Lewis will be the 24th game in the series between the Buffs and Sky Hawks. Fort Lewis currently leads the series 14-8-1 and have won six straight games over West Texas A&M. The last matchup occurred in 2024 where FLC won 1-0.
 
Tuesday's game against Colorado Christian will be game 12 in the series with the Buffs holding a perfect 11-0-0 record over the Cougars. The teams faced off last season where WT came away with a 4-0 victory at The Pitch.
 
Buffaloes Roll Past Colorado Christian on Saturday, 4-0- September 20, 2025
WT took an early lead against Colorado Christian with Ben Scotford converting a penalty kick in the 9th minute following a yellow card issued to Bodie Curtis. D'Jonte Davis extended the lead in the 14th minute, scoring with an assist from Desire Essis to make it 2-0. CCU attempted to respond with shots from Salvador Fernandes and Jackson Schroeder, but both were saved by Zach Kos. The Buffs maintained their advantage into the half, despite accruing several fouls.
 
West Texas A&M began the second period strongly against Colorado Christian, with Dominic Murphy scoring in the 50th minute, assisted by Davis, to increase their lead to 3-0. The Buffs continued to dominate as Davis converted a penalty kick in the 66th minute, bringing the score to 4-0. Throughout the period, Colorado Christian struggled to break through, with Lucas Peruzo and Iasonas Nikolaidis missing the target on their attempts. WT maintained pressure with multiple shots on goal, but Owen Sutherland's goalkeeping efforts for Colorado Christian kept further goals at bay.
 
Davis led the Buffs with two goals and added an assist, contributing significantly to the scoreboard. Scotford scored the game-winning goal and posted two shots on goal. Murphy added a goal on his only shot attempt, increasing the team's lead. Kos, in goal for the full 90 minutes, recorded two saves and secured a shutout for the team.
 
Scouting Adams State
The Adams State University Grizzlies will also be opening their season at The Pitch on Thursday. ASU has played one preseason game against Fort Lewis. Adams State is coming off a 2025 season where they went 1-15-1 with an 0-10 mark in the RMAC. Coming into this season, the Grizzlies were projected to finish last in the RMAC.
 
The offseason saw the Grizzlies lose their lone All-Conference player in Avery Richards who was an Honorable Mention All-RMAC last season. He led ASU in points, goals, assists, shots, and shots on goal. Adams State also lost Eric Kidson, Tim Mientenkorte, and Tobias Sereining who all scored 3+ points as well as starting goalkeeper Josh Kropf.
 
ASU will return defenseman Caleb Avila who finished second in minutes played with 1119 in 14 starts. Goalkeeper Lars Ostermann will also return after making five starts in eight appearances. Ostermann compiled 25 saves on a 47.2 save percentage and a 5.57 goals allowed average.
 
Head Coach Peter Freeman enters his second season with Adams State ahead of 2026. Freeman previously spent nine seasons with Trinidad State.
 
Scouting Fort Lewis
The Fort Lewis College Skyhawks are coming off a 2025 season where they produced a 9-4-4 record with a 5-3-2 mark in conference play. FLC finished seventh in the RMAC standings and did not reach the playoffs. The Skyhawks enter this season projected to finish third in the RMAC.
 
The offseason saw Fort Lewis lose a plethora of notable players headlined by All-American Alessio Andreottola. Andreottola was a D2CCA First Team All-American and Third Team United Soccer Coaches All-American after leading the NCAA in assists with 17. Andreottola would also earn First Team All-South Central Region through D2CCA and United Soccer Coaches while being named RMAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. The Skyhawks would also lose defenseman Casey Stracher (First Team) and midfielder Quinn Bosanko (Second Team) who both made All-RMAC.
 
FCL does return multiple key pieces from last year's squad including All-American Lorenz Guintini and All-RMAC Honorable Mentions Francisco Pinto and Raul Baptista Filipe. Guintini led the Skyhawks in goals (13), points (30), and shots on goal (29) as he was also named First Team All-South Central Region and First Team All-RMAC. Pinto started all 17 games and tallied 18 points from six goals and assists. Baptista Filipe played 1196 minutes in the midfield and totaled three points from a goal and assist. Also returning for Fort Lewis will be goalkeeper Lucas Martin who started every game and compiled 55 saves and a 1.65 goals allowed average with three shutouts.
 
Head Coach David Oberholtzer enters his 11th season with Fort Lewis College ahead of the 2026 season. Oberholtzer holds a career record of 91-61-29 with FLC and has guided them to two NCAA Tournament appearances and seven RMAC Tournament appearances with a regular season RMAC Title in 2023.
 
The Skyhawks will take on LSC foe Lubbock Christian on Thursday before facing the Buffs on Saturday.
 
Scouting Colorado Christian
The Colorado Christian University Cougars come into 2026 after posting a 2-13-3 record with a 2-6-2 mark in conference play in 2025. The Cougars finished eighth in the RMAC and did not reach the playoffs. CCU was picked to finish tenth in the RMAC.
 
In the offseason, Colorado Christian lost two of there three All-RMAC honorees in Salvador Fernandes and Dylan Hall who were both Honorable Mentions. Fernandes led the Cougars in scoring with 12 points from six goals while Hall tallied five points from a goal and three assists. Other departing players include Lucas Peruzo, Mac Weaver, and Cole Foresman. Peruzo scored five goals for 10 points while Weaver (1385) and Foresman (1297) played the most minutes.
 
Notable returners for CCU include Tiago Gomez and Campbell Wolfgram. Gomez was an Honorable Mention All-RMAC after notching 10 points from four goals and two assists in 1067 minutes. Wolfgram started 12 games in goal for the Cougars and recorded 55 saves on a 67.1 save percentage and a 2.25 goals allowed average.
 
Head Coach Caleb Cole enters his sixth season with Colorado Christian ahead of the 2026 season. Cole holds a 29-37-22 record in his career with one RMAC Tournament appearance.
 
CCU will open their season on Thursday against LSC foe Oklahoma Christian before taking on the Buffs on Tuesday.
 
For all the latest on West Texas A&M Men's Soccer, stay tuned to gobuffsgo.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.