By Diego Ocando – The Morningside Mustangs men’s soccer team will open GPAC regular season play at home this Saturday, September 20, when they face the Hastings Broncos at 5:30 p.m. at Elwood Olsen Stadium.
This game marks the start of a new Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season. The Mustangs come in with a record of 1-1-4 after playing a tough non-conference schedule. Despite the mixed results, Morningside enters conference play as the preseason favorite to defend their regular-season GPAC title. The maroon and white earned 87 points in the Preseason Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll, receiving three of eleven first-place votes.
Hastings arrives with momentum, winning their last two matches. The Broncos hold a 3-3-2 record and sit just behind Morningside in the preseason poll with 84 points, picking up four first-place votes—one more than the Mustangs, though three fewer points overall.
The Broncos feature a new head coach this season, Luke Cottage, who previously led Kansas Christian to a 10-3-3 record and a trip to the NCCAA Tournament in 2024. Returning to the squad is last year’s top scorer, sophomore forward Tim Berger, who netted 11 goals and was named to the All-GPAC First Team. The defense is anchored by senior Juan Lopez-Arteaga, who was recently honored as GPAC Defensive Player of the Week.
For the Mustangs, junior forward Tassilo Koerner, from Munich, Germany, leads the attack with three goals so far this season. Senior midfielder Gustavo Santos, from Santos, Brazil, adds creativity and leads the team in assists with two.
The Mustangs will look to defend their GPAC regular-season championship and set the tone for another title run.
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