Thursday, August 20
Madison, WI
5:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
at
Wisconsin
#35 Eemil Laamanen | Fr. | D
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MSOC | Saint Mary’s Heads to the Midwest to Open the 2026 Season with Matchups Against Wisconsin and Marquette
8/19/2026 12:17:00 PM | Men's Soccer
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's men's soccer team will kick off the 2026 season with a big-time road trip, taking on Big Ten member Wisconsin, followed by a first time meeting with Big East side Marquette. The trip to Madison under the lights on Thursday will be just the fourth all-time matchup with the Badgers and the first since 1999.
Thursday's match will be streamed live on Big10+ with Sunday's contest returning to ESPN+. Additional game information and media links can be found below or at smcgaels.com.
GAME INFORMATION AND COVERAGE
MSOC | Saint Mary's at Wisconsin | McClimon Soccer Complex
Madison Wisc. | Aug. 20 | 5 p.m. (PST)
Live Stats | Big10+ | Tickets
MSOC | Saint Mary's at Marquette | Valley Fields
Milwaukee, Wisc. | Aug. 23 | 11 a.m. (PST)
Live Stats | ESPN+
GAELS OUTLOOK
2026 Roster Breakdown…
The 2026 Saint Mary's men's soccer roster features 13 returners and 19 total newcomers including 2025 All-WCC Honorable Mention selection Sam Bentley. Bentley has been a two-year starter in goal for the Gaels with 29 games played and nearly 100 career saves over his two seasons. Additional key returners for Saint Mary's includes three-year veteran Surafel Abebe and second-year standout midfielders Jaydon Whittaker and Cameron Kobey. Kobey finished with a goal and an assist last season and was recently named to Top Drawer's WCC Preseason Watch List.
A new and youthful group allows for intense competition in training. In the Gaels' exhibition against Cal, newcomers like Talan Rochelle, Luke Schaefer and Ryan Firestone all broke into the starting lineup with meaningful minutes. Rochelle and Firestone joined the program as conference transfers from Gonzaga and San Francisco, while Schaefer came over as a graduate transfer from Cal Poly for his final season of collegiate soccer. Freshman center back Eemil Laamanen also had a nice impact over his 42 minutes against Cal, getting credit for an assist on the equalizer in the 59th minute. Saint Mary's matched Cal with 11 shots on the afternoon, going toe-to-toe with a Golden Bears program that won eight games in 2025 and narrowly missed out on an at-large bid after falling in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
Road Trip of Firsts…
Saint Mary's and Wisconsin have met three times over their series history but the Gaels will return to Madison for the first time since 1999. A big time road matchup under the lights will set the stage for Saint Mary's, who is looking for its first ever road win over the Badgers. The opening week of college soccer will end with a first-time matchup with the Marquette Golden Eagles out of the Big East conference.
Head coach Adam Cooper and his squad will have a chance to secure the program's first win in Madison and take the 1-0 edge in their first ever meeting with Marquette by the weekend's end.
New Look West Coast Conference…
The West Coast Conference will look a bit different in 2026, losing members Gonzaga and Oregon State to the newly formed Pac-12, but adding men's soccer power Denver. The WCC finished the 2025 season with four teams inside the national top-25 and earned three tournament bids. While one of those teams, Oregon State, has departed from the WCC, newcomer Denver enters the year receiving votes in the national preseason poll along with San Diego and Portland being ranked inside the top-15. The WCC will look to garner multiple NCAA Tournament bids for the tenth time out of the last eleven seasons and continue to move forward as one of the nation's most competitive mid-major soccer conferences.
Series History…
Saint Mary's will rekindle an old flame Thursday night, as they take on Wisconsin for just the fourth time in program history and the first time since 1999. The Gaels are 1-2 in their previous three matchups with the Badgers and will look for their first ever road win in Madison under the lights on Thursday. Sunday's matchup with Big East member Marquette will be the first in program history.
ABOUT THE BADGERS (0-0-0, Big Ten)
Wisconsin added ten new Badgers over the offseason, including four freshmen and six transfers. Among the transfers are goalkeeper Judewellin Michel and forward Luke van Heukelum, who both previously played for Big Ten programs. Michel spent his freshman campaign at Indiana, where he played in five matches and went 3-1-1. Van Heukelum comes to Madison after three seasons with the Maryland men's soccer team, where he earned 27 points (10 goals, 7 assists) in 43 games.
Head coach Neil Jones holds a 27-24-13 (.523) record as he enters his fifth season with Wisconsin soccer. Jones led the Badgers to an 8-8-0 (.500) record during the 2025 season. Jones and his squad were picked to finish ninth out of the eleven member institutions in the Big-10 preseason poll and also had three players named to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch list, released on Tuesday.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES (0-0-0, Big East)
Marquette finished its 2025 campaign with a 7-7-2 overall record but recorded just one win in Big East play, missing out on the conference tournament. The Golden Eagles were recently picked to finish fourth in the Midwest Division of the Big East, with Georgetown and Akron sitting as the favorites to win their respective divisions.
Mads Konrad Horgøien out of Norway returns for the Golden Eagles after leading the team in scoring a season ago, netting six goals over his 14 games played. Fifth-year midfielder Mateo Stoka also returns after finishing second on the team with ten points and a balanced season, scoring three goals with four assists. Marquette ranked sixth in the Big East with 1.56 goals per game and cracked the top five with 247 shot attempts on the season. David Korn enters his third season as head coach for the Golden Eagles with an overall record of 13-14-6.
Thursday's match with Wisconsin will be streamed live on Big10+ with Sunday's match against Marquette returning to ESPN+. Tickets for the opening week can be bought online at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Thursday's match will be streamed live on Big10+ with Sunday's contest returning to ESPN+. Additional game information and media links can be found below or at smcgaels.com.
GAME INFORMATION AND COVERAGE
MSOC | Saint Mary's at Wisconsin | McClimon Soccer Complex
Madison Wisc. | Aug. 20 | 5 p.m. (PST)
Live Stats | Big10+ | Tickets
MSOC | Saint Mary's at Marquette | Valley Fields
Milwaukee, Wisc. | Aug. 23 | 11 a.m. (PST)
Live Stats | ESPN+
GAELS OUTLOOK
2026 Roster Breakdown…
The 2026 Saint Mary's men's soccer roster features 13 returners and 19 total newcomers including 2025 All-WCC Honorable Mention selection Sam Bentley. Bentley has been a two-year starter in goal for the Gaels with 29 games played and nearly 100 career saves over his two seasons. Additional key returners for Saint Mary's includes three-year veteran Surafel Abebe and second-year standout midfielders Jaydon Whittaker and Cameron Kobey. Kobey finished with a goal and an assist last season and was recently named to Top Drawer's WCC Preseason Watch List.
A new and youthful group allows for intense competition in training. In the Gaels' exhibition against Cal, newcomers like Talan Rochelle, Luke Schaefer and Ryan Firestone all broke into the starting lineup with meaningful minutes. Rochelle and Firestone joined the program as conference transfers from Gonzaga and San Francisco, while Schaefer came over as a graduate transfer from Cal Poly for his final season of collegiate soccer. Freshman center back Eemil Laamanen also had a nice impact over his 42 minutes against Cal, getting credit for an assist on the equalizer in the 59th minute. Saint Mary's matched Cal with 11 shots on the afternoon, going toe-to-toe with a Golden Bears program that won eight games in 2025 and narrowly missed out on an at-large bid after falling in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
Road Trip of Firsts…
Saint Mary's and Wisconsin have met three times over their series history but the Gaels will return to Madison for the first time since 1999. A big time road matchup under the lights will set the stage for Saint Mary's, who is looking for its first ever road win over the Badgers. The opening week of college soccer will end with a first-time matchup with the Marquette Golden Eagles out of the Big East conference.
Head coach Adam Cooper and his squad will have a chance to secure the program's first win in Madison and take the 1-0 edge in their first ever meeting with Marquette by the weekend's end.
New Look West Coast Conference…
The West Coast Conference will look a bit different in 2026, losing members Gonzaga and Oregon State to the newly formed Pac-12, but adding men's soccer power Denver. The WCC finished the 2025 season with four teams inside the national top-25 and earned three tournament bids. While one of those teams, Oregon State, has departed from the WCC, newcomer Denver enters the year receiving votes in the national preseason poll along with San Diego and Portland being ranked inside the top-15. The WCC will look to garner multiple NCAA Tournament bids for the tenth time out of the last eleven seasons and continue to move forward as one of the nation's most competitive mid-major soccer conferences.
Series History…
Saint Mary's will rekindle an old flame Thursday night, as they take on Wisconsin for just the fourth time in program history and the first time since 1999. The Gaels are 1-2 in their previous three matchups with the Badgers and will look for their first ever road win in Madison under the lights on Thursday. Sunday's matchup with Big East member Marquette will be the first in program history.
ABOUT THE BADGERS (0-0-0, Big Ten)
Wisconsin added ten new Badgers over the offseason, including four freshmen and six transfers. Among the transfers are goalkeeper Judewellin Michel and forward Luke van Heukelum, who both previously played for Big Ten programs. Michel spent his freshman campaign at Indiana, where he played in five matches and went 3-1-1. Van Heukelum comes to Madison after three seasons with the Maryland men's soccer team, where he earned 27 points (10 goals, 7 assists) in 43 games.
Head coach Neil Jones holds a 27-24-13 (.523) record as he enters his fifth season with Wisconsin soccer. Jones led the Badgers to an 8-8-0 (.500) record during the 2025 season. Jones and his squad were picked to finish ninth out of the eleven member institutions in the Big-10 preseason poll and also had three players named to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch list, released on Tuesday.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES (0-0-0, Big East)
Marquette finished its 2025 campaign with a 7-7-2 overall record but recorded just one win in Big East play, missing out on the conference tournament. The Golden Eagles were recently picked to finish fourth in the Midwest Division of the Big East, with Georgetown and Akron sitting as the favorites to win their respective divisions.
Mads Konrad Horgøien out of Norway returns for the Golden Eagles after leading the team in scoring a season ago, netting six goals over his 14 games played. Fifth-year midfielder Mateo Stoka also returns after finishing second on the team with ten points and a balanced season, scoring three goals with four assists. Marquette ranked sixth in the Big East with 1.56 goals per game and cracked the top five with 247 shot attempts on the season. David Korn enters his third season as head coach for the Golden Eagles with an overall record of 13-14-6.
Thursday's match with Wisconsin will be streamed live on Big10+ with Sunday's match against Marquette returning to ESPN+. Tickets for the opening week can be bought online at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's SoccerGK
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerMF
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