MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (September 24, 2021) – The seventh ranked St. Thomas University (STU) Men's Soccer team (4-0-1) is set to begin conference play this Saturday in Thomasville, Ga. against Thomas University with a scheduled start time at 1 p.m.
 
Head Coach Feliks Mats looks to continue to guide the Bobcats Futbol club to success as he heads into his 15^th season at the helm. St. Thomas comes in as the defending Sun Conference Tournament Champions bringing home the crown in 2020. That was the third time is the past five years that Mats and the Bobcats have brought home the title. The team finished second in the conference just behind Keiser University and went 8-2 in conference play. St. Thomas was scheduled to finish second in the Coaches' Preseason Poll.
 
The Bobcats finished in the Elite 8 last season following a clean Lawrenceville Bracket sweep in Opening Round play and continuing the momentum for the highest finish in program history.
 
STU goes into SUN play with a 4-0-1 record collecting their only tie against NCAA Division II foe, Nova Southeastern University. St. Thomas has already shown resilience and depth as the team has two last minute come from behind victories, finding a way in the final minutes to get the push they need for victory. The Bobcats swept their two games at the Southeastern Invitational to open up the season. The team then went on to pick up an impressive shutout win against 2018 NCAA DII National Champions, Barry University. The most recent match proved best as the Bobcats came from being down 3-1 at the half against Florida National to scoring three second half goals, two in the last here minutes, to secure the 4-3 victory.
 
The offense has been spread very well as the team's 14-goals came from nine different players. St. Thomas welcomes back NAIA All-American's Federico Landaburu and Fernando Arzeno, two strong attacking forces at the top for the Bobcats. Mats brought in complimentary pieces Facundo Cisterna and Guido Cacciabue to help spread the ball and detour the focus off of Arzeno and help create more offense and options. Arzeno continues to be the main attacked currently leading the Bobcats in goals (3) and points (7).
 
Thomas University comes into the contest 3-2 on the season and on a two-game losing streak. The Nighthawks did not compete in Sun Conference play in 2020 due to COVID-19. St. Thomas currently hold the 4-2-2 advantage over Thomas. The last matchup. In 2019 was in favor of St. Thomas winning 3-0.
 
The Bobcat defense has been anchored by senior goalkeeper, Franco Acerbi and captain centerback, Juan Manuel Collazo. Acerbi has only given up two goals all year and brought home SUN Defensive Player of the Week honors on the Week of September 7^th after the shutout of Barry. Collazo has controlled the back line and limited the number of shots on goal for opponents.
 
St. Thomas is currently ranked seventh in the latest NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll. The Bobcats will return home and be the first team to play an official game on the Bobcat Turf Field on Wednesday, September 29 under the lights at 6 p.m. STU has a split schedule with four home and four away conference games.
 
Thomas Match Information
Video – https://thesundigitalnetwork.com/tunighthawks/
Stats – https://stubobcats.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
 
St. Thomas Home Match Information
Video – https://thesundigitalnetwork.com/stthomasuniversity/
Stats – https://stubobcats.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
 
Find the full schedule for the Bobcats here and come out and support this season in what is set to be a big year for St. Thomas Men's Soccer.