Men's Soccer | August 25, 2021
PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's soccer season kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 26 at Army West Point (0-0) at 3 p.m. streaming on ESPN+.
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:
- Thursday's match marks the debut of newly appointed head coach Taylor Thames, who comes to La Salle with a decade of Division I coaching experience, most recently at Army West Point.
- The Explorers wrapped up their spring 2021 season at 5-5-1, 2-3-1 A10 with a mark of 3-3-1 on the road.
- The Blue & Gold welcome back all nine of their goal scorers from a season ago, an offensive unit that ranked fifth in the A10 in scoring average (1.636) while conceding just 1.36 goals per game.
- On the scoring front, Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team forward Omari Cotterell returns for his senior season after tying for the team lead with three goals in the spring season.
- Junior Nare, a member of the Atlantic 10 freshman team, matched Cotterell with three goals in his debut campaign a season ago.
- The Explorers outshot opponents 151-99, including a 74-48 edge in shots on goal.
SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS:
- After finishing 3-3-1, 0-3-1 Patriot League in the spring 2021 season, Army was dubbed 10th in the Patriot League preseason poll.
- The Black Knights return their leading scorer from the spring, All-Patriot League second team forward Oscar Pereira.
- Pereria marks Army's lone representative on the Patriot League Men's Soccer Preseason All-League Team, his first such honor.
- As a team, the Black Knights held opponents to just 0.86 goals per game while the Army offense averaged 1.43 goals on 15.4 shots per game.
- The Black Knights also welcome back starting keeper Jacob Suppiah, who made six starts while conceding just six goals across over 537 minutes.
