Men’s soccer to begin fall practice on Monday

The UHV men's soccer team will begin its quest for a fifth Red River Athletic Conference Championship when it opens fall practices on Monday.

The Jaguars (10-3-5 overall, 7-0-4 RRAC in 2022) finished second in the RRAC regular season standings and advanced to the conference semifinals for the 10th consecutive season and eighth straight time in the RRAC.

It was also the eighth 10-win season in program for the Jaguars.

"We're excited to get going with the men's team," said head coach Adrian Rigby, who enters his 14th season with UHV. "We've had another good recruiting class and are excited about some of the dynamic players joining our program. We expect another strong season and to be challenging for a conference championship at the end."

UHV's defense will look to build on a strong 2022 in which it allowed only 15 goals in 17 matches.

Anchoring the Jaguars' back line will be sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Kaeppeli and defenders Philipp Kueck, a sophomore, and Matthew Albury, a graduate senior.

Kaeppeli earned RRAC Newcomer of the Year and second team All-Conference honors in 2022 after starting 16 matches, making 46 saves and holding a 0.94 goals against average. He was also an All-Tournament selection last season. The Canadian had seven shutouts to his credit, as well.

Kueck was selected to the All-RRAC Second and Freshman teams last year.

"We're returning some key pieces at the back," Rigby said. "We're looking forward to them, but also some new faces to challenge for some spots.

Jose Martinez, a senior from Houston, is the top returning scorer for the Jaguars after bagging three goals and two assists during the 2022 campaign.

In addition to Martinez, senior midfielder Karlo Lopez returns. The Corpus Christi native was selected to the NAIA All-American Honorable Mention in 2020 and 2021. He's scored 15 goals with 11 assists in 28 appearances for UHV.

"Up front, we're looking forward to having Jose and Karlo lead the way for us," Rigby said. "We expect their senior leadership to shine on the field for us."

The Jaguars will open the regular season at home against Texas Wesleyan on Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m.