WAVERLY, Iowa-- The men's soccer team, under fourth-year head coach Kirk Artist, has 43 players on its roster this season. "We have several newcomers, a couple transfers, but our core group is our returners," he said.

Among those are last year's leading goal scorer, now-sophomore Zubeen Azari (Spirit Lake), junior Brady Anderson (Cedar Rapids), seniors Bob Brown (Solon) and Mike Buzynski (Hudson) and sophomore Kevin Krueger (Prior Lake, Minn.).  

Azari had eight goals and three assists last year for the Knights. Brown returns after his third-straight year of receiving First-team All-Conference honors and will anchor the defense along with Krueger.

Artist will look to Brown for a lot of leadership this season.

Anderson, Buzynski and Krueger have all been named captains along with Brown.

Artist sees a lot of other players that will be competing for playing time. "This year, compared to last year, we're a bit more solidified as far as what formation we'll be playing," he commented. "There are still some battles in practice going on in positing groups and tough decisions for coaching staff to make in a few areas, especially in the starting goalkeeper spot."

Last year, time in the net was split between senior Cade Shatzer (Denver) and junior Zach Kohlmeyer (Waterloo). Together, they combined for three shutout wins.

"We also have two other very good options, in sophomore Austin Boyke (Verona, Wis.) and freshman Mason Bandre, a 6-4 keeper from Salina, Kan.," said Artist.

He also sees a few other players helping Zubeen up top in junior Dan Nadeau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and freshmen Paris Martins (Coralville) and Kimu Kasha (Cedar Rapids). "These guys will all be in the scoring column and will help Zubeen up top as they all have great speed and versatility," commented Artist.

The Orange and Black will play a tough non-conference schedule as Artist sees this as the best way to prepare for the Iowa Conference slate. He estimates that by the end of the season, Wartburg should be one of the top five teams in the region, thanks to its schedule strength.

Wartburg opens the season Friday, Aug. 21 on the road against St. Thomas at 5:30 p.m. before facing Augsburg on Saturday at 7 p.m.