At Tampa (Friday): STATS | VIDEO
At Flagler (Sunday): STATS | VIDEO
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida men's soccer team kicks off its season with a pair of road contests against Tampa and Flagler on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
 
The season-opener against Tampa is scheduled for a 7 pm ET kickoff at Pepin Stadium in Tampa, and the match against Flagler will begin at 2 pm ET in St. Augustine, Florida, at Saints Field. Live stats and live video will be available for both games, and fans can follow along by clicking the links above or visiting GoArgos.com.
 
IN THE PRESEASON POLL
* The University of West Florida men's soccer team was picked by league coaches to finish fourth in the Gulf South Conference.
* West Alabama was picked to finish first, followed by Spring Hill and Mississippi College. Alabama Huntsville, Montevallo, and Lee were picked fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, and Christian Brothers, Union, Delta State, Shorter and AUM rounded out the poll.
* Senior midfielder Kameron Bethell was named a preseason all-conference selection by league coaches after earning All-GSC honors for a second time in his career last season. The graduate of nearby Navarre HS started all 16 games for West Florida and earned a place on the GSC Fall Academic Honor Roll in his junior campaign. Bethell scored twice and also tallied two assists on the year.
* Additionally, Hakeem Reid and Ryan Sandidge were chosen as UWF's top newcomers for the year. Reid, a defender, is a transfer from Eastern Florida State, and Sandidge will play in the midfield for UWF after playing for Daytona State.
 
OUR RETURNERS
* West Florida returns keeper Jacob Murray, who posted a 1.20 GAA in 2017, along with a .763 save percentage and 3 shutouts.
* In the field, West Florida brings back 19 of its 25 goals from 2017. Sergio Otalora, the team's top goal- and point-scorer, comes back for a senior season, as do Kameron Bethell, Gavin Gillies, Alik Morgan, and Chandler Castleman.
 
ABOUT TAMPA
* Last season, head coach Adrian Bush guided Tampa to its first Sunshine State Conference tournament title since 2010 and its third overall. With a win, Bush will surpass Tom Fitzgerald for the most all-time career wins in Tampa history.
* Junior goalkeeper Jake Richards returns for the Spartans in net after allowing just 1.25 goals per game, earning him All-SSC second team. Juancho Fernandez also returns after netting three goals and notching two assists last season.
* The Spartans are picked to finish second in the SSC this season after tallying four first place votes and 91 overall points.
 
ABOUT FLAGLER
* The Flagler College men's soccer team was picked to finish fifth in the Peach Belt Conference's preseason coaches' poll for the second year in a row, as announced by conference officials.
* Flagler finished last year in fourth place in the PBC with a 4-3-0 record in league play and a 5-9-1 mark overall. The Saints closed out the regular season by winning a pair of matches by the score 2-1, including an overtime win at Francis Marion University. Flagler defeated Clayton State at Saints Field to wrap up the regular season, but lost to the same team three days later in a conference quarterfinal match in St. Augustine, 1-0.