(Ann Arbor, MI) - Concordia Ann Arbor Men's Soccer will kick off their 2024 season this Saturday with a home match against Taylor University. Head Coach Jason Clare will be entering his third season at the helm for the Cardinals as they look to get back into the WHAC playoffs for the first time since the spring 2021 season. Concordia returns 22 players from last year's roster while adding 6 newcomers into the mix.

2023 SEASON REVIEW

The Cardinals finished their season with a 1-13-4 overall record while going 0-8-3 in conference play. Concordia started off their campaign with a 7-1 victory at home over Ohio Christian and found four draws throughout the season, including three in conference to finish 10th in the WHAC table.

2024 SCHEDULE OUTLOOK

After kicking off the season on Saturday, the Cardinals will play host to Saint Francis (IN) on August 21 before heading away to Goshen and Kalamazoo to round out the first month of play.

September features the final two non-conference games, Grace Christian (Home - September 4) and Indiana East (Away - September 7). Four WHAC games will close out the September slate with home games against Cornerstone and Northwestern Ohio, while traveling to Michigan-Dearborn and Lawrence Tech. 

The month of October sees the Cardinal's start with a three-game road trip against Siena Heights, Madonna and new WHAC member Defiance. The final half of the conference slate will see the Cardinals hosting four of the final five games of the regular season with hosting Rochester Christian and Lourdes before traveling to #9 Indiana Tech and rounding out the season with #RV Aquinas and Cleary.

CONCORDIA PERSONNEL

Seniors and Graduates: Goalkeeper Kyri Wixom will be back in goal for the Cardinals after starting 16 games and accumulating 73 saves throughout last season. He will have seasoned upperclassmen to play in front of him on defense in Tim Relou, Nicholas Corona, and Raul Elizondo. Luis Ramirez will return as a senior midfielder for the Cardinals with Bryce Schaner back at striker after leading the team with 5 goals last year. 

Juniors: A pair of junior midfielders will be back in Marcello Pinterpe (2 goals and 1 assist) and Nicholas Kiafoulis (2 assists). Elijah Macke scored a pair of goals up top for the Cardinals last year, while Andre Wangandu will be on the backline. 

Sophomores: Coach Clare's first recruiting class features 12 players returning for their sophomore season. Carter Kerbawy, Clemens Gehlich, and Ignacio Lopez all netted 3 goals throughout the 2023 campaign with Kerbawy adding on 6 assists to lead the team in points and Gehlich and Lopez an assist each. Jan Lloveras Freix and Lucas Anderson were mainstays in the midfield, both contributing a goal and an assist. Angel Elizondo and Alejandro Jovine helped provide depth in the midfield and up front. Evan Lock played at center back for nearly every game for Concordia, even scoring on a pair of set pieces. Fellow classmates and defenders John Clark and Robert Klinger provided valuable minutes on the backline as well. Dario Cela and Trevor Meyer will serve as back up keepers for Wixom, as Cela played in 5 games while racking up 23 saves last year. 

Freshmen and Transfers: Coach Clare has a class of six newcomers to add into the fold this season. Joining the Cardinals are Jaxon Cain, Ethan Krupansky, Daniel Martin Ojeda, Mateo Nabben, Justin Pedro, and Marlon Rataj.

2023 TEAM STATS

2024 WHAC PRESEASON POLL

The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference released their preseason poll on August 5th with the Cardinals landing in 12th place with 27 points. Aquinas was named the preseason favorite due to their 163 points and 8 first place votes. The Saints narrowly edged out Indiana Tech who garnered 161 points and 5 first place votes. Rounding out the top-5 were Madonna (138), UNOH (127), and Lourdes (115).

FULL RELEASE

As announced on June 13th by CUWAA President Erik Ankerberg, the 2024-25 Academic Year will serve as the final season for CUAA Athletics. If you would like more information check out www.cuaa.edu/future. Concordia Ann Arbor fans, community members and alumni are encouraged to come out and support CUAA's student-athletes in their final season as a Cardinal.