ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan University men's soccer team opens the 2024 season against Walsh University at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 5 at Redhawks Stadium.

Roberts is coming off back-to-back appearances in the East Coast Conference Championship and two straight trips to the National Christian College Athletic Association Division I championship semifinals. The Redhawks return eight players who started at least 10 games last season and welcome eight new players this fall, giving 10^th-year head coach Scott Reber a roster packed with talent and experience.

"We have a solid core and I think that the players coming in will give us that additional bump to get over some of those games that we left on the table last year," Reber said.

Here are five things to know about the Redhawks:

DECORATED RETURNEES

Roberts returns four players who received postseason honors last season, including fifth-year forward Tamas Nagy.

Nagy, the 2023 National Christian College Athletic Association Midwest Region Player of the Year, led the East Coast Conference with 13 goals last season. He was named All-ECC First Team and was a member of the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-East Region Second Team and the NCCAA Second-Team All-America squad.

So what does the 2024 version of Nagy look like headed into the season?

"Even better than 2023," Reber said. "He's more mature with more composure."

Defenders Nathan Ferguson and Benjamin Lazcano Barros and midfielder Cooper Kerridge all earned Second-Team All-Region from the NCCAA and Ferguson and Kerridge were third-team All-ECC picks.

MORE EXPERIENCE TO LEAN ON

The Redhawks also have several players who made strong contributions returning in all of their position groups.

Sophomore forward Myles Palmer came on strong during his freshman campaign and finished second to Nagy with nine goals last fall.

Senior Toby Balaam (4 goals) and juniors Micah Cornfield (1 goal, 3 assists) and Julian Silva also return.

Junior Luke Hanes (4 goals) made 20 starts last season is back in the midfield along with senior Noah Balaam, sophomore Takumi Horan and junior Dylan Baker.

Junior Dwayne Lewis led the field players with 1,677 minutes played last season and brings speed and skill to the back line. Sophomore Maxim Dion also returns.

Senior Caleb DaSilva leads a trio of returning players in goal. DaSilva started all 20 games last season and posted five shutouts. Juniors
Juan Daniel Espinosa Rubio and Eric Jewson are also solid and give Reber confidence across the board.

"The nice thing is that no matter what happens to any one of them, I have faith in the other two," Reber said.

TALENTED NEWCOMERS

Reber and his staff welcomed eight new players this summer and only two are first-year players.

Defender Aiden Ambeau and midfielder Sebastian Guerrero make up the freshman class and both are local products. Ambeau played at Greece Athena High School and Guerrero was a standout at Gates Chili.

Forward Archie Murphy, a native of England, joins the Redhawks as a sophomore while defender Carlos Kramer Silva (Jamestown Community College), midfielders Ian Bonnes (Houghton University), Jack Hopson (Onondaga Community College) and Conlan McCoy (South Mountain Community College) come on board as juniors.

Graduate student Marcos Ortiz is up from the Redhawks Development Team to play his final season.

"I am really excited about this incoming group," Reber said.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The Redhawks are hoping that their experience allows them to learn and grow from the 2023 season.

Roberts started last season 0-3-1 and also tied five of its 20 matches. Roberts finished with a 3-3-2 record in conference play and earned the No. 5 seed for the ECC Championship. One of the goals this season is to convert those ties into more victories.

Reber said the preseason has been competitive, with several players vying to earn starting spots for the opener.

"Those are good problems to have," he said. "I am hoping to be able to use many players this year and stay fresh throughout the season."

ROAD WARRIORS

Roberts opens its season with a pair of non-conference matches against Walsh and Malone and then will play 10 of its remaining regular-season contests on the road.

Other highlights of the home schedule include a match against ECC conference favorite Queens on Sept. 21, an ECC match against the College of Staten Island for Homecoming/Senior Day on Sept. 28 and 3:30 p.m. contests against Saint Thomas Aquinas College and Molloy on Oct. 12 and 26, respectively.

The regular season wraps up at Saint Anselm College on Nov. 2.