LOUDONVILLE, NY - The 50th NCAA Division I season in Siena Men's Soccer program history kicks off Thursday evening as the Saints travel to Amherst, MA, for a season-opening bout against the #8 Massachusetts (UMass) Minutemen. The match is set to kick off at 4 p.m. on Aug. 21 from Rudd Field.
Siena looks to carry momentum from a 2024 season in which the program secured its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament victory since 2016 and its first outright conference tournament win since 2015. The Saints finished last season 7-5-6 overall and 4-1-3 in league play to secure the #3 seed in the conference tournament. Led by rising junior and 2024 Second Team All-MAAC selection
Bennet Glinder in goal, the Saints tied for 30th nationally last season allowing 1.00 goals per game – holding opponents to one or fewer goals in 13 of 18 matches.
Protecting Glinder will be the experienced backline of
Thomas Sams,
Miguel Plaza, and
Eric Svensson. Along with senior duo of Plaza and Svensson and the graduate student Sams, freshmen
Ismail Dia and
Karl Tchounjin help make for a dynamic group.
After earning Third Team All-MAAC honors and leading the team with six goals last season,
Mario Navarro Perez is poised for a strong junior campaign. The Mira, Spain, native topped the Green and Gold with 34 shots and 17 shots on target and had top-10 marks in the MAAC in total goals and goals per match.
Additionally, fellow 2024 All-MAAC selection
Lee Mara looks to build off a successful sophomore season as he helps anchor the midfield group along with classmate
Alejandro Perez Jorda and MAAC All-Tournament Team selection
Tomislav Vrdoljak.
Following back-to-back MAAC Semifinal appearances – and plenty of talent from last year's team returning – the Saints were predicted to finish third according to the
MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The selection marked the highest preseason pick in program history, while Glinder and Navarro Perez appeared on the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
Siena's 17-match regular season slate opens with the program's first match against a nationally ranked opponent since taking on #22 Rider in 2017, as well as the first against a nationally ranked non-conference team since battling #23 Boston University in 2014. The Saints also look towards a rematch with BIG EAST foe Xavier and the first home match against crosstown rival UAlbany since 2012.
Graciano Brito begins his sixth season at the helm and looks to continue immediate success since arriving to Loudonville in 2020-21. Brito has led the Saints to the postseason in each of his five previous seasons, including trips to the MAAC Semifinals in each of the last two. Highlighted by a single-season program record eight league wins in 2023, Brito has accumulated a 23-12-10 (.622) record in league play through his first five seasons and has gone .600 or better in the conference each year since 2021.
Ranked #8 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, the Minutemen look to build off a 2024 season that resulted in a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Entering the field as an at-large team, UMass rattled off wins against Evansville, #6 Pennsylvania, and #11 Virginia before falling to #3 Denver with a trip to the College Cup on the line. The Minutemen have since lost Alec Hughes – who led the team and tied for seventh nationally with 33 points – and Andrew Ortiz – who was second on the team with 13 points – but welcome back rising seniors Matt Cence and Aidan Kelly, who tied for third on the squad with 10 points each last season. Alex Geczy returns for a graduate year in goal as well after starting all 22 games last season, posting a 13-4-5 record with a 1.04 goals-against average and a .747 save percentage. Transitioning from the Atlantic 10 to the Summit League this season, UMass was picked third in the 2025 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
UMass enters Thursday's match with a 14-2-2 edge in the all-time series. The sides also met in last year's season opener which resulted in a scoreless draw on Aug. 22 in Loudonville. The Minutemen finished with an 11-7 shot advantage in the match, while both sides totaled three on target. The Saints finished the evening with a 6-2 edge on corners. Siena is 0-1-1 in its last two matches in Amherst, MA, with the most recent coming in 2013.
