Miami Gardens, Fla. - Homecoming Weekend has finally arrived on the campus of St. Thomas University, and four sports will be competing at home as part of the celebrations.
Rugby
Game Details
Teams: Queens University of Charlotte (5-2) at St. Thomas University (0-2)
Date: Friday, October 16 | 6:00 pm
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla. | AutoNation Field
Media Coverage: Live Video
Rugby will play their home opener to start Homecoming Weekend at St. Thomas University. They will welcome Queens University of Charlotte. The Bobcats have dropped their first two games of the season at Army and at a neutral-site game against Davenport (Mich.). Queens University of Charlotte has won five of their first seven matches. The only common opponent the two teams have faced is Army, with both St. Thomas and Queens losing their respective matches. St. Thomas and Queens faced each other last year in Charlotte, and St. Thomas won 49-35.
Football
Game Details
Teams: #2 Keiser University (4-1 overall, 2-0 Sun) at #9 St. Thomas University (6-0 overall, 2-0 Sun)
Date: Saturday, October 17 | 12:00 pm
Game Theme: Homecoming
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla. | AutoNation Field
Media Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes
Matchup History
St. Thomas trails the all-time series against Keiser, as they are 0-8. The last few games at AutoNation Field have been close, with the Bobcats losing by four points in 2024 and five points in 2022. In last year's 14-35 loss at Keiser, Bobcats linebacker Zach Marino made 12 tackles, and Defensive Back Keyon Martin had three pass breakups.
Defensive Matchup
Saturday's game will feature two of the NAIA's best scoring defensive units. St. Thomas enters play allowing just 11.3 points per game, which is the third-best in the country. Keiser is not far behind them, as their 13.0 points per game is the ninth-best in the NAIA.
Deflecting the Football
St. Thomas leads the NAIA in pass breakups, with 45 on the year. Defensive Back Keyon Martin is tied for first in the NAIA with 10 breakups this season. Linebacker Zach Marino is tied for fifth in the NAIA with nine breakups. Other Bobcats with a good number of breakups include Favid Shannon with five and Jerome Mitchell Jr. with four.
Stopping the Run
The Bobcats lead the NAIA in rushing defense, allowing just 40.2 yards per game on the ground. The next-closest team in the NAIA is Montana Tech, who allows 53.3 rushing yards per game. When compared to other scholarship four-year programs around the country, the Bobcats are just behind NCAA Division II Northwood University (Mich.) in that category, as the Timberwolves average 40.0 rushing yards allowed per game. They are ahead of the NCAA Division I leader, the University of Miami, who averages 42.6 rushing yards allowed per game.
The Ball Runs Through Lopez
Running Back Isaiah Lopez leads The Sun Conference in rushing yards, with 750 yards on the ground. The next closest rusher in the conference is Keiser's Raphael Ekechi, who has 329 fewer rushing yards with one fewer game played. Lopez also leads the conference in all-purpose yards with 927. In the NAIA, Lopez has the fifth-most rushing yards and the ninth-most all-purpose yards.
Peanut Punch
St. Thomas has forced nine fumbles this year, which is the sixth-most in the NAIA. They have recovered nine fumbles, which is tied for the most in the country. Leonardrez Leonard is tied for the most forced fumbles in The Sun Conference with two.
Scouting Keiser
The Seahawks enter play Saturday on a five-game winning streak after dropping a one-score game at NCAA Division II Anderson in their first game. Keiser has one of the best offenses in the country, as their 47.6 points per game is the sixth-most in the NAIA. Quarterback JT Tabora has the fifth-highest completion percentage in the country, at 69.2%.
Women's Volleyball
Game Details
Teams: Warner University (7-12 overall, 2-7 Sun) at #10 St. Thomas University (15-5 overall, 9-0 Sun)
Date: Saturday, October 17 | 4:00 pm
Game Theme: Senior Day
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla. | Fernandez Family Center
Media Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats
Matchup History
St. Thomas leads the all-time series over Warner, going 30-8. The Bobcats are on an 11-game winning streak over Warner dating back to 2020. These two teams faced each other last month, and the Bobcats swept the Royals, 3-0. In the win, Alexandra Bruno led the Bobcats with 11 kills, Payton Bertke had 29 assists, and Isabella Narbutas had three blocks.
Senior Day
In addition to it being Homecoming Weekend, St. Thomas will host Senior Day before the start of the game on Saturday. The Bobcats will be honoring eight seniors: Esther Bachere, Payton Bertke, Alexandra Bruno, Madelynn Coates, Ranya Mehta, Isabel Narbutas, Sofia Sanchez, and Ana Clara Valentim do Vale. St. Thomas is grateful for these seniors' contributions.
Scouting Warner
The Royals enter action after winning their second Sun Conference match this year, in a Senior Day sweep over Webber International. Araya Garrison leads the Royals in kills (122), and Imar Laboy leads the Royals in assists (307) and digs (137).
Men's Soccer
Game Details
Teams: Warner University (3-5-6 overall, 0-2-2 Sun) at #18 St. Thomas University (7-3-2 overall, 3-0-2 Sun)
Date: Saturday, October 17 | 7:00 pm
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla. | AutoNation Field
Media Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats
Matchup History
The Bobcats lead the series over Warner, 16-5. St. Thomas is currently on a 12-game win streak over the Royals going back to 2014. The Bobcats average 3.05 goals against the Royals, and Warner has averaged 0.56 goals against St. Thomas. In the Bobcats' 4-1 win last year in Lake Wales, current Bobcat Angelo Bernardes scored on a penalty shot, and the Royals only had three total shot attempts in the entire match.
Updated Rankings
In the latest NAIA Men's Soccer National Selection Committee Poll that was released Wednesday afternoon, the Bobcats dropped from 10th to 18th in the NAIA. The Bobcats went 3-0-1 since the previous poll, but key metrics like RPI and Strength of Schedule dropped for St. Thomas.
Bernardes Scores in Two Straight Games
Brazilian Angelo Bernardes has scored in back-to-back games for St. Thomas. He scored his second goal of the season last Saturday at Florida College, in which his shot bounced off the bottom of the crossbar into the net. On Wednesday's draw at New College of Florida, Bernardes scored the only goal of the match for the Bobcats on a pass from fellow Brazilian Thiago Patto.
Scouting Warner
Despite being a below-.500 team, the Royals have been playing some good soccer the past week. They picked up their second Sun Conference point in a 1-1 draw at Ave Maria. On Tuesday, Warner beat Trinity College of Jacksonville on the road 2-1, with the Royals' game-winning goal coming in the 89th minute. The Royals are led by Sun Conference leading goal scorer Jackson Davenport, who has 12 goals this season. The Georgia native has three more goals this season than the next-highest player in the conference.
