MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (September 27, 2019) – The 13^th ranked, undefeated, St. Thomas University Men's Soccer team (6-0) opens Sun Conference play with a highly-touted match-up against No. 16 Southeastern University (6-0-1) in the Sun Conference Game of the Week on Saturday, September 28 from Lakeland, Fla.

In the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll, that came out on Wednesday, September 25, St. Thomas made the biggest leap as the Bobcats moved from the No.18 spot to 13^th. The ranking for STU is the highest in-season ranking since St. Thomas was ranked 12^th in 2017.

St. Thomas is off to the hottest start in program history and the Bobcats early schedule has already featured wins over No. 9 Georgia Gwinnett, NCAA Division II program, Nova Southeastern and reigning 2018 NCAA DII National Champions, Barry University.
No. 13 St. Thomas and No. 16 Southeastern are the only ranked teams in the Sun Conference, while Keiser is receiving votes.

This Sun Conference opening match, will be a deciding factor in the Sun Conference regular season championship race, as the Bobcats look to reclaim the title for the first time since 2017. Recent history favors St. Thomas against Southeastern, with STU taking victory on the pitch in each of the past three seasons.

On the season, the Bobcats have outscored opponents 15-6 and are led by dynamic play on both sides of the field. On the offensive end, team captain, Pablo Gil and Mads Rismoen. Gil currently leads the team in goals (5) and points (11), while Rismoen is second on the team in goals (4) and points (10).

Defensively, the line of captain, Harry Molyneux, Max Franke, Romario Atkinson and George Koutsopodiotis provide a stout line that have limited opponents to one goal-per-game and held teams to a 0.100 shooting percentage.

Freshman keeper, Franco Acerbi, has appeared in four matches on the season, and has yet to allow a goal in nearly 200-minutes and is 3-0.

Jake Van Der Luit leads the 16th ranked Southeastern Fire, as the graduate transfer has scored 10 goals in seven matches, leading the Sun Conference in goals, shots (38) and shots-on-goal (24), and will provide a challenge for the Bobcats defensive line.

The match is scheduled to kick-off at 2:30 p.m. from Southeastern University as Sun Conference play begins for No. 13 St. Thomas.