SPRINGFIELD, IL – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's soccer team opens its home season with Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) opponents Drury University and Missouri S&T this weekend.

SETTING THE SCENE
UIS (2-2, 2-0) hosts Drury (3-1, 2-0) on Friday at 7:30 p.m in Kiwanis Stadium. The Prairie Stars round out the weekend by facing Missouri S&T (1-2-1, 0-2) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Kiwanis Stadium.

LOOKING BACK
During the 2016 season, UIS placed ninth in the GLVC standings with a 7-9-2 overall record and a 6-7-2 conference record. Drury took fourth in the GLVC with a 9-3-3 conference record. The Panthers reached the NCAA Division II Tournament as a No. 6 seed and advanced to the Third Round before falling to top-seeded Rockhurst University on penalty kicks. Drury closed out with a 13-4-4 record. Missouri S&T finished second in the conference with a 10-3-6 overall record and a 9-1-5 GLVC record.

WHAT'S HAPPENING LATELY
UIS is coming off two road victories after topping William Jewell College (1-2, 0-2) in a 1-0 decision last Friday and capturing a 2-1 win over Truman State University (1-4, 0-2) last Sunday.

Drury collected two home wins after defeating the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (0-4, 0-2) in 1-0 decision last Friday and the University of Indianapolis (2-2, 1-1) in a 3-2 decision last Sunday.

Missouri S&T took road losses to Indianapolis last Friday and Bellarmine University (3-1, 1-1) last Sunday. Both contests were settled by scores of 3-1.

STARS OF NOTE
Mario Falsone and Rhys Wallace each lead the Prairie Stars with two goals this season. Daniel Kemp, Adrian Ortega and Alex Zarco have provided assists.
Tommy Geile has recorded one shutout and rejected 15 of the 20 shots he's faced this year.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
UIS and Drury fought to a 1-1 tie last year. The Panthers lost Antonie Vial, who contributed eight goals and ranked third in the conference with .533 goals per game last season. Drury also lost David Cross, who netted eight goals last season and finished second in the conference with five game-winning goals.

The Panthers return six starters, including Charles Guelly and Ben Bruce, who each provided eight goals last season. Pierre Villez dished out six assists for Drury. Nic Helin comes back to Drury after compiling six shutouts and a .795 save percentage in 2016. He also has two shutouts so far this year.

Missouri S&T came away with a 2-1 win over UIS last year after scoring a goal with 1 minute, 7 seconds remaining in double overtime. The Miners lost Mitch Morris and Matt Kilwin, who each played on a back line that helped limit opponents to just .975 goals per game. Missouri S&T's team scoring defense ranked third in the GLVC last year.

The Miners bring back seven starters from last year, including its top four scorers. Felipe Andrade tallied 27 points off 12 goals and three assists in 2016. He finished first among GLVC leaders in points per game (1.47) and second in goals per game (.632). Unnar Ufarsson produced 19 points off six goals and seven assists. He ranked second in the conference with .368 assists per game. Will McIntyre registered four goals and five assists while Austin Parks added four goals. Aaron Hohenstein put together six shutouts and finished the season leading the conference with an .840 save percentage.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Prairie Stars travel to St. Louis, MO next weekend as they face Maryville University (4-0, 2-0) on Sept. 22 at 2:30 p.m. and the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) (2-1-1, 2-0) on Sept. 24 at 2:30 p.m. Maryville is ranked No. 19 in the latest United Soccer Coaches (USC) NCAA Division II poll.

UIS DIVISION II RECORD BOOK WATCH
Naba Alzhyri ranks second in career assists (6) while Geile holds second in career saves (181). Jack Coombes is tied for third in career game-winning goals (3) and is one away from tying the school record.

HOW TO WATCH
Friday, Sept. 15: UIS vs. Drury (Live Video) (Live Stats)
Sunday, Sept. 17: UIS vs. Missouri S&T (Live Video) (Live Stats)