MIDWAY, Ky. -- After having the last couple of weeks to prepare, the Midway University men's soccer team will take the pitch for the first time in 2020 on Tuesday when they take on Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.).

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET at the SMWC Soccer Field in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Live stats and live video will be provided and can be found here.

Because of the restrictions caused by COVID, the Eagles are opening the season a couple of weeks later than normal, but that allows head coach Tim Wolz more time to train his team and have them ready for the 2020 campaign.

"This preseason has been really productive thus far," said Wolz. "This is a bit of an older team with plenty of experience, so they know what to expect even though this year has been different than those in years past."

It is that experience that Wolz hopes will pay dividends in the long run. "Between our seniors and juniors, we have plenty of players with minutes on the field and I think that will help us."

The Eagles return plenty of familiar faces from this past season and the season before that who are back for another year. In all, the Blue and Gold return 13 players from this past season who each played in 11 plus games.

Seniors, Evan Sakamaki (Floyds Knobs, Ind.) and Devin Underwood (Lancaster, Ky.) are back after appearing in 17 and 13 games respectively last season.

Juniors, Drew Blaydes (Midway, Ky.), Jacob Cash (Georgetown, Ind.), Daniel Caldwell (Owensboro, Ky.), Taylor Daniel (Hopkinsville, Ky.), Clayton Parks (Winchester, Ky.) and Thomas Sidebottom (Bardstown, Ky.) are all back after playing crucial minutes last year. Junior netminder, Hunter Caudill (Winchester, Ky.) is also back after missing last season.

Midway also returns sophomores, Bryce Brockman (Louisville, Ky.), Patrick Cleary Jr. (Louisville, Ky.), Luke Lehmenkuler (Sellersburg, Ind.), Gerson Solis (Shelbyville, Ky.), Jacob Smith (Frankfort, Ky.) and Cody Trenkamp (Dry Ridge, Ky.) who all played in double digits games as freshman.

Wolz is excited about his returners and the experience that they provide, but he also likes some of the newcomers who have stood out thus far.

Adam Milovanovic (Norrkoping, Sweden) a sophomore transfer from Southeastern Community College (Iowa) will help out in the midfield, while freshman, Tomas Lopez (Bardstown, Ky.), Will Sidebottom (Bardstown, Ky.) and Cheal Kwizera (Lexington, Ky.) are expected to step in and play right away.

"I like our team and I like what I've seen in our practices thus far," noted Wolz. "Our training sessions have been competitive, we've got depth, experience and leadership; it's been fun!"

Following the trip to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Tuesday and then another road trip to Shawnee State (Ohio) on Sept. 23, the Eagles will host Johnson (Tenn.) in their home opener on Sept. 29.

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