2023 Men’s Soccer Season Preview

GAMBIER, Ohio — The Kenyon College men’s soccer team, coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history, is looking to continue its trend as one of the nation’s premier programs with a new coaching staff.

2022 Review:

• 19-2-1 overall record, including 9-1 at home and 8-0-1 on the road
• 7-0-1 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), securing the program’s seventh straight NCAC crown
• Runner-up in the NCAC Tournament
• NCAA Tournament at-large qualifier; advanced to the ‘Elite Eight’ for the fifth time in program history

Preseason Polls:

The Owls picked up where they left off in both the conference and national standings, ranking No. 5 in the national United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DIII preseason poll and topping the NCAC preseason coaches’ poll. Kenyon received six of the nine possible first-place votes and tallied 78 points in the balloting of league coaches. Ohio Wesleyan was picked second after garnering the remaining three first-place votes and 75 total points. Denison was selected third with 60 points, while Wabash was tabbed fourth with 53 points, followed by DePauw (37) in fifth, Wooster (35) in sixth, Wittenberg (32) in seventh, Oberlin (26) in eighth, and Hiram (9) in ninth.

Key Returners:

• Aidan Burns – D3soccer.com All-America Third Team, First Team All-NCAC defender who recorded the second-most minutes amongst position players (1658) while chipping in a pair of goals and assists.
• Matt Nguyen – Second Team All-NCAC defender who logged the most position-player minutes (1735) and added three goals and an assist.
• Jack Pedreschi – Second Team All-NCAC goalkeeper who started all 22 games and led the Owls in goals against average (0.50), save percentage (.836), and saves (51). His 2022 goals against average ranks third in program history.
• Alem Duratovic – United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team midfielder who led the team and all NCAC players in points (38) and goals (18), tying for the sixth-most goals in a Kenyon season.
• Atli Hrafnkelsson – Ranked second in assists (8), fifth in points (14), and tied for fifth with four goals.
• Isaac Cortez – Tied for fifth with four goals as a first-year while adding two assists.
• Eamon Dujakovich and Gerardo Martinez – Tied for fifth in assists with three apiece, and each scored three goals.

Key Departures:

• Scott Upton – United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team, D3soccer.com All-America Third Team, United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team, NCAC Midfielder of the Year; Tied for second with 10 goals and ranked third in both points (25) and assists (5).
• Luke Muther – United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team, First Team All-NCAC; Key contributor on Kenyon’s stellar defense who added to assists.
• Sebastian Gaese – United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team, First Team All-NCAC; Team-leading 10 assists, second in points (30), tied for second with 10 goals.
• Sam Carson – NCAC Offensive Player of the Year, who ranked fourth on the team with eight goals and 18 points.
• Mac Nardiello-Smith – Tied for fifth with four goals and chipped in a pair of assists.

Schedule Overview:

• Season Opener: Friday, September 1 at No. 13 Ohio Northern University (7:30 p.m.)
• Home Opener: Sunday, September 3, vs. No. 23 John Carroll University (1:30 p.m.)
• NCAC Opener: Saturday, September 30, at DePauw University (noon)

How to Follow: 

Fans can follow Kenyon men’s soccer throughout the season via the following links: 

• Live coverage (stats and video) – https://athletics.kenyon.edu/live 
• Twitter and Instagram – @KenyonSports
• YouTube – @KenyonAthletics