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LOS ANGELES - The LMU men's soccer team is set to open its 2016 campaign with a pair of contests as part of the Central New York Classic this weekend. The Lions will open their season with a matchup at Colgate on Friday at 3 p.m. before returning to the pitch Sunday at Syracuse for a 4 p.m. contest.

At The Helm
Head Coach Paul Krumpe will commence his19th season on the sidelines for the Lions this fall. The programs all-time wins leader has guided LMU to six NCAA tournament appearances during his tenure.

"We've changed our formation a little bit from last year," stated Krumpe. "We've spent the last two weeks trying to get acclimatized to that. I'm very happy right now that we've gone a couple of games and not given up any goals, but it doesn't mean that we're not going to need to get better defensively. The guys that have been playing out of the back have done a really good job, our goalkeeping has been good."

Preseason Predictions
The Lions were predicted to finish fourth in the 2016 West Coast Conference preseason poll, as selected by the leagues eight head coaches.

Junior forward Alvaro Madrigal earned a nod to the preseason All-WCC squad after earning a spot on the All-WCC first team and the NSCAA All-Far West Region third team a season ago. Madrigal led the Lions in goals (8), assists (5) and points (21) during his breakout sophomore season.

"I think were we're going to be a little bit more exciting as in the past couple years we've only played with one true striker and a couple of wingers," remarked Krumpe. "This year we're expected to play with two strikers so I think we'll be a little more dynamic, interesting and dangerous going forward."

Related Link: Lions Earn First Place Vote, Madrigal Named Preseason All-WCC.

Where We Left Off
LMU boasted a 9-9-0 mark a season ago, posting its second straight nine-win season.

Madrigal and Corral Cruz accounted for 12 of the Lions 23 goals last season. On the defensive end, the Lions will look to replace Paul Blanchette, who eanred WCC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year honors and capped his careers as the programs single-season (8) and career (19) shutout leader.

In The Posts
Junior transfer Collin Partee will look to fill the void left by Blanchette after spending the past two seasons as the starting net minder for Utah Valley. Partee earned a nod to the All-Western Athletic Conference second team a season ago and went 11-3-2 during his time as a Wolverine.

Related Link: Men's Soccer Adds Seasoned Goalkeeper.

Road Warriors
LMU has posted a 14-8-7 mark the past three seasons on the road and is 2-0-1 on its opening away game of the season during that span.

"Obviously we're looking at two very good teams on the road," said Krumpe. "The first game, Colgate, we probably match up better with so we're going to do our best to win that game. Syracuse was a NCAA finalist last year and we've heard that they're very, very athletic. We're going to see early on how athletic we need to be this year. Coming home with a split, coming home with a win and a tie, coming home with two wins, I think all of those are really good results for us to go across the country and play in hostile environments against very good teams."

Scouting Colgate
The defending regular-season Patriot League champions will commence their season against the Lions. Colgate posted 10-7-2 mark overall, falling to Lehigh in the semifinals of the Patriot League tournament, 2-0, to end its season.

Reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Ethan Kutler was selected to defend his title in the leagues preseason poll. The senior posted nine goals, including three game-winners, while aiding on another trio of scores.

Scouting Syracuse
The Orange are coming off its most successful season in program history, winning the ACC Championship and advanced to the College Cup semifinals before falling in penalty kicks to Clemson. Syracuse capped its campaign with a 16-5-4 mark, falling just one victory short of setting a new school record.

The Orange returns seven starters from its College Cup squad, and will open its season against Massachusetts on Friday before taking on LMU.

Up Next
LMU will host Florida Gulf Coast Sept. 2 in its Sullivan Field opener. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.

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