Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
St. Thomas
Northwestern Opens Season at Home Against St. Thomas
8/23/2023 1:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern men's soccer kicks off its 2023 campaign against St. Thomas on Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. CT inside Ryan Fieldhouse.
Northwestern returns 12 players who started in at least two games and 55.7% of total minutes played from the 2022 roster. Justin Weiss and Jason Gajadhar, who both tallied three goals last season, were named to the 2023 Big Ten Men's Soccer Players to Watch list along with Ugo Achara Jr.
Weiss and Achara Jr. are Northwestern's only two players who have been named to an All-Big Ten team during their time in Evanston — Weiss in 2021 and Achara Jr. in 2020-21. Including Weiss and Gajadhar, the 'Cats return seven players who scored a goal last season.
Thursday's clash is the first meeting between the 'Cats and the Tommies. Northwestern is 20-9 against the current alignment of the Summit League all-time, and carries a four-game win streak against Summit League foes into the season-opener.
The Tommies were pegged to finish fifth in the preseason Summit League poll. St. Thomas returns five goalscorers from last season, including Carver Tierney who tied a team-high three goals and finished second on the team with six points.
Fourteen newcomers join the Northwestern roster, including four transfers (Rafael Ponce de Leon, Jackson Weyman, Reese Mayer and Ugo Achara Jr.) and 10 first-years (Kai Reis, Owen Noverr, Peter Riesz, Fritz Volmar, James Spatzek, Italo Addimandi, Gregory Cook, Bryant Mayer, Jude Bosshardt and Tyler Glassberg).
Northwestern will conclude its two-game season-opening homestand on Sunday, August 27th with a contest against NJIT at 1:30 p.m. CT on B1G+.
