WAVERLY, Iowa --- Men's soccer will close nonconference play this week with a road match against No. 17 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Tuesday, Sept. 29 before finishing the week at home against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fifth-annual Warhawk Knight Cup matchup on Friday, Oct. 2.
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Tuesday, Sept. 28 | Eau Claire, Wis. | Simpson Field
Wartburg vs UW-Eau Claire | 5 PM CT | Live Stream | Live Stats
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Friday, Oct. 2 | Waverly, Iowa |Salzwedel Field
Wartburg vs UW-Whitewater | 7 PM CT | Live Stream | Live Stats
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Series History
UW-Eau Claire
- Tuesday will mark the first matchup all time between these programs
UW-Whitewater
- Friday will mark the fifth-annual Warhawk Knight Cup matchup and the 13th all-time matchup
- Warhawk Knight Cup began in 2022
- Through four Warhawk Knights Cup matches, the series is at 1-1-2 with each team winning once at home
- UW-Whitewater won last season's matchup 1-0 and leads the all-time series 6-4-2
- The Knights are 3-2-1 at home in the series
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The Knights Against Ranked Opponents
- Wartburg has faced two ranked teams earlier this season in Augsburg (T 2-2) and Macalester (T 1-1)
- Have tied against four-straight ranked opponents
- The Knights are 2-1-6 in their last nine matches against ranked opponents
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Wartburg
- Wartburg enters the contest with an overall record of 2-2-3 after defeating Bethel 3-1 in its last contest
- Third match with three or more goals scored this season (2-0-1 record when scoring three or more goals)
- The Knights are averaging just under 15 shot attempts per match (14.7) while allowing opponents just 9.4 shot attempts per contest
- As a team, Wartburg has 13 assists on 13 goals scored, while Wartburg's opponents have 12 goals scored with just nine assists
- Flori Gembo and Alima Mmunga lead the Knights with 10 points recorded each so far this season
- Gembo leads the team in assists (four) and Mmunga leads the team in goals scored (four)
- Seven different Knights have scored a goal this season with Mmunga, Gembo and Blake Whitlow being the only Knights with multiple goals
- Wartburg is 2/2 in penalty kick attempts this season
- Gembo and Mmunga have each made one
- Joseph Svoboda has started six matches in goal for the Knights this season, while Caleb Cross started last match against Bethel
- Svoboda has one shutout and 17 saves through his six starts
- Cross made three saves in last week's win over Bethel
- Seven different Knights have recorded at least one assist this season
- Gembo (four), Lwings Kabula (three) and Mmunga (two) are the only Knights with multiple assists
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A Closer Look at This Week's Opponents
UW-Eau Claire
- Enters Tuesday's contest ranked No. 17 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll with an overall record of 5-1-2
- Suffered first loss of the season last Saturday against No. 7 University of Chicago in a 4-3 shootout
- The Blugolds have played three of the same opponents as Wartburg, going 3-0 against MSOE (5-2), Bethel (3-2) and Macalester (1-0)
- Has outscored opponents 21-12 through eight matches with three shutout performances
- UW-Eau Claire has recorded over twice as many corner kicks as corner kicks allowed (56-27) in 2026
- Owen Backus leads all Blugolds with five goals scored, but there is six total Blugolds with multiple scores and 11 total Blugolds with at least one goal
- Oge Enwemnwa is the team leader in assists with four this season, while four other Blugolds are tied for the next spot with three assists
- Charlie Mroz has started seven matches at goalkeeper for the Blugolds and has recorded 22 saves with one solo shutout as well as one combined shutout
- Douglas Payton has started the only other match at keeper and recorded five saves in a shutout win over Macalester
UW-Whitewater
- Enter's the week with an overall record of 4-1-3 and will face Loras on Wednesday before traveling to Waverly on Saturday
- Defeated fellow A-R-C team Dubuque 2-1 earlier this season and tied with Macalester 0-0
- Defeated Elmhurst 4-1 in its last match, which marked the third time this season scoring four or more goals (defeated Monmouth 9-0 and Marian 6-0)
- Outscoring opponents 25-7 and have shutout three opponents through eight matches played
- As a team, UW-Whitewater has a 62-23 advantage in corner kicks and a 23-4 edge in assists
- Hayden Saul is the goal leader for the Warhawks as he has netted four so far in 2026
- Eight different Warhawks have scored multiple goals
- Tyler Chrisman leads the Warhawks in total points (nine) and is tied for the lead in assists (three)
- Seven different Warhawks have recorded multiple assists
- Austin Waite has started all eight matches at goalkeeper for UW-Whitewater this season
- 31 saves recorded, one solo shutout and two combined shutouts
