2023 Men’s Soccer Preview
COLUMBIA, Ky. – The 2023 Lindsey Wilson men's soccer season gets underway on Wednesday against Mount Vernon Nazarene at 6 p.m. CT on Ray Wells Field at Walter S. Reuling Stadium.
Last season, the Blue Raiders went 13-7-4 and 6-3-1 in the Mid-South Conference under first year coach Sicelo Buthelezi. Lindsey Wilson captured its second-straight and 16th MSC Tournament championship. The Blue Raiders won the Winona Lake bracket to advance to the NAIA National Championship final site. Lindsey Wilson reached the semifinals for the first time since 2019.
"Our expectations for this season are to compete every day and work hard to win the conference host the National Tournament 1st/2nd rounds, and win a national championship," Buthelizi said.
The Blue Raiders know that if they want to accomplish those goals they need to learn from the 2022 season. "One takeaway from last season is that we must have a better start to our season in order to have the best chance to compete in the end," Buthelezi added. "We must keep believing in ourselves until the end.
Lindsey Wilson returns a trio of key players from last year's semifinal run. Sadam Masereka, Monwabisi Mngqibisa and Pablo Costa all comeback looking to build off of last season's success.
Masereka is looking to build upon an impressive freshman campaign. He was named the MSC Freshman of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference honors and was named an NAIA First Team All-American. Masereka scored a team-high 15 goals and ranked second on the Blue Raiders in assists with five.
Mngqibisa ranked second on the team in goals behind Masereka with 12. The junior also recorded four assists and totaled 28 points. Mngqibisa earned Second Team All-MSC honors for the first time in his career in 2022.
Costa played in 20 games last season making 18 starts. He posted five shutouts while recording 70 saves. Costa ranked third in the MSC in saves and was fourth in the conference with a .745 save percentage.
Jaland Larmond and Samuel Odame are also expected to have an impact on Lindsey Wilson this season. Larmond played in all 24 games for the Blue Raiders last season scoring six goals and adding two assists. Odame comes to Lindsey Wilson from Georgia Southern where he played in 16 games for the Eagles scoring three goals in 2022.
The 2023 schedule for the Blue Raiders features six teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll including No. 1 and reigning NAIA National Champions Bethel (Ind.). Lindsey Wilson also faces two teams in the receiving votes section of the preseason poll.
Lindsey Wilson is no stranger to these kinds of matchups on its schedule. "We always make a point to play a tough schedule and we look forward to the challenges," Buthelezi said.
