The men’s soccer team has released the 2023 fall schedule for its 17^th season in the NAIA.

The Saints compete in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) along with Huston-Tillotson University (HTU), Jarvis Christian University (JCU), Louisiana Christian University (LCU), LSU-Alexandria (LSUA), LSU-Shreveport (LSUS), Paul Quinn College, Texas A&M University – San Antonio (AM-SA), Texas A&M University – Texarkana (TAMUT), Texas College (TC), the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV) and the University of the Southwest (USW). The conference adds two new members – North American University (NAU) out of Houston and Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA).

Head Coach Shane Hurley commented, “We have some tough tests for us in preseason, and with a large group of incoming players, that tough competition should assist in obtaining quality assessments of our depth in many areas. I’m looking forward to seeing what the gentlemen can do, as well as to seeing us represent OLLU.”

The Saints finished their 2022 campaign with a 2-11-3 overall record and 2-7-2 in conference. The team finished in 10^th place and did not qualify for the postseason.

Preseason schedule

The Saints begin their preseason at home with a scrimmage against NCAA D3 Texas Lutheran University on Aug. 21, and a scrimmage in Laredo against NCAA D2 Texas A&M International on Aug. 26. Their official season begins on Sept. 2 in Chickasha, Okla., against the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (vs. – 2-4). The team moves to Oklahoma City for a nonconference matchup against Oklahoma City University (vs. – 2-4-2) on Sept. 4.

The Saints continue their nonconference schedule on Sept. 9 against Wayland Baptist University (vs. – 1-5-1) at home.

Conference lineup

On Sept. 14, the men begin their conference schedule with a home match against LSUS (vs. – 6-5/Overall 14-4-3/RRAC 9-0-2/1^st Place), and TAMUT (vs. – 8-1/Overall 6-8-3/RRAC 4-4-3/7^th Place) visits OLLU on Sept. 14 for a match.

The team hits the road the following week on Sept. 21 for a match against TC (vs. – 11-2-1/Overall 0-14-1/RRAC 0-11/12^th Place) in Tyler. The Saints travel to Hawkins, Texas, next for a match against JCC (vs. – 9-0/Overall 5-11-1/RRAC 2-8-1)/12^th Place) on Sept. 23. USW (vs. – 12-6-1/Overall 3-8-4/RRAC 2-5-4/9^th Place) comes to OLLU on Sept. 28, and PQC (vs. – 3-1-2/Overall 9-6-3/RRAC 4-5-3/8^th Place) will be in San Antonio on Sept. 30.

The Saints will travel south for a match against AM-SA (vs. – 1-1/Overall 7-5-3/RRAC 5-3-3/4^th Place) on Oct. 7, and on Oct. 12, OLLU will host XULA. The Saints will play NAU on Oct. 14.

LSUA (vs. – 2-7-4/Overall 6-7-3/RRAC 5-3-3/5^th Place) hosts OLLU on Oct. 19, and LCU (vs. – 1-1/Overall 11-3-6/RRAC 6-0-5/3^rd Place) will host the Saints on Oct. 21. The Saints will travel to Victoria for a matchup against UHV (vs. – 8-8-2/Overall 10-3-5/RRAC 7-0-4/2^nd Place) on Oct. 26, and the men will play their last regular-season game on Oct. 28 in Austin, Texas, against HTU (vs. – 8-9-2/Overall 8-7/RRAC 6-5/6^th Place).

RRAC tournament

The conference will get set for the 2023 postseason beginning Nov. 3 at campus sites for the opening round and Nov. 10 for the final round in Texarkana, Texas. The LSUS Pilots won the regular season and postseason titles in 2022. They fell in the opening round of nationals to William Carey University to end their season.

NAIA tournament

The First and Second Rounds of the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship will take place Nov. 16-18 at campus sites. The 65^th Annual Men’s Soccer National Championship will take place Nov. 27-Dec. 4 at the Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita, Kan.

Plans for home matches

The Saints will broadcast home matches on the OLLU Saints Network, and will feature live-stats. Links will be available on the men’s soccer schedule page. 

General admission charge for all home matches is $10; free admission is available for OLLU faculty, staff and students.