The Lowdown: (RV) Kansas Wesleyan University at Friends University
Location: Adair-Austin Stadium
Kickoff: Sept. 20 @ 4:30 PM
Live Stream: https://urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/2858
Live Stats: https://friendsathletics.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
Flying with the Women's Soccer Falcons (2-2-1, 0-0, KCAC)
The Falcons are 2-2-1 after their KCAC opening match Wednesday night (Sept. 17) vs. Southwestern College was suspended with 29:53 left in the second half due to severe weather. The match remained scoreless and will conclude Monday evening (Sept. 22) at 6 pm.
Kieley Aranda leads the Falcons with three goals and Anahi Ibarra-Arevalo and Trinity Granger are tops with two assists each.
Morgan Wilkinson has 23 saves with a 1.47 goals-against average during her nearly 428 minutes in the net for Friends.
Dish on the Coyotes (3-2-1, 1-0 KCAC)
The (RV) Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes are 3-2-1 and won their KCAC opener at Bethel College 2-1 Wednesday (Sept. 17).
Emma Gervey is pacing KWU with three goals on the season and Brooklyn Velotta has recorded a team-leading two assists.
Isabella Galvan has started all six matches at goalkeeper for the Coyotes and has a 1.17 GAA with 25 saves.
The Series: The Falcons won 2-0 at Kansas Wesleyan last year and have won three straight in the series. Friends is 6-19-2 overall vs. KWU since 2004 due to a 17-match losing streak from 2005-2017.
The Coaches:
Brent Hobson enters his 12th season leading the Falcons women's soccer team for the 2025 season. After failing to qualify for the NAIA National Tournament for 15 seasons, Hobson has now guided the Falcons to four national appearances in the past six years. In his 11 seasons at the helm, Hobson has amassed an overall record of 116-75-19.
Last season saw the Falcons cross an item off the bucket list, winning their first KCAC tournament championship of the modern-era to clinch another NAIA National Tournament bid. The Falcons' run to the KCAC tourney title included a dramatic penalty kick win over top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University in the semifinal round and a thrilling 1-0 overtime victory over York University in the championship match. The Falcons finished 14-6-2 overall for the program's fourth straight double-digit victory season.
The Falcons recorded a 13-5-4 record in 2023 and their first conference unbeaten season (10-0-3) in the modern era that resulted in a second-place finish in the KCAC and another berth into the NAIA National Tournament.
In 2021, Hobson coached the Falcons to a runner-up regular season finish in the conference and mentored KCAC Freshman of the Year Keily Larosee and the league's top newcomer Elyssa Salazar.
Hobson guided the Falcons to a breakthrough 2019 season, finishing second in the league and advancing to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in 15 years to earn KCAC Coach of the Year honors. He coached eight All-KCAC performers in 2019, including two-time Goalkeeper of the Year Lauren Ferguson while guiding the team to the conference tournament championship game.
In the 2018 campaign, Hobson led the Falcons to a fourth-place in the KCAC for the second straight season and a home postseason tournament match for the third consecutive year.
He also coached six Falcons to all-conference honors, including KCAC Goalkeeper of the Year Lauren Ferguson.
The Falcons also soared off the pitch under Hobson, with a conference-high 18 student-athletes receiving KCAC Scholar-Athlete honors.
During the 2017 campaign, Hobson guided the squad to a fourth-place conference finish and a KCAC quarterfinal home match, with five Falcons earning all-conference recognition.
Off the pitch, the Falcons placed four student-athletes on the NAIA Scholar-Athlete list while a whopping 10 team members received the KCAC Scholar-Athlete award.
In 2016, the Falcons matched the 11 wins from a year before but improved to an 8-3 record in KCAC play for a third-place finish in the conference standings. Cuda repeated her CoSIDA award and was named the Academic All-America of the Year, the top academic award in all of college sports.
Hobson played all four years at Friends University then was hired on as an assistant coach for the men's and women's soccer teams. During his career, he tallied a total of 33 goals and 21 assists, along with eight game-winning goals. Hobson earned 2nd Team All-KCAC honors his junior year and 1st Team All-KCAC after his senior season. He also received numerous team awards. The Falcons were 24-10-3 in the KCAC and 47-27-5 overall in Hobson's four seasons on the team.
In 2013-2015, Hobson played professionally for the Wichita B-52's in the PASL & MISL Indoor Soccer League.
Hobson received his degree in health management from Friends in 2011. Hobson and his wife, Whitney, live in Wichita.
Joe Schwartz is in his first season as head coach of the Kansas Wesleyan University women's soccer program. Last season, Schwartz led the Coyotes to a second place finish in the KCAC with an 11-2 conference mark.
Prior to arriving at KWU, Schwartz was at the helm of the Southwestern College women's soccer team for two seasons. At Southwestern, Schwartz guided the Lady Builders to a pair of KCAC championship matches, with the title game appearances representing the first for the team since 2012.
Before starting his collegiate coaching career, Schwartz had a five-year tenure as head coach of the Arkansas City high school girls' soccer program after spending two years as assistant coach for the team.
Up Next: The Falcons will resume the final 29:33 vs. Southwestern at home Monday evening (Sept. 22) at 6 pm before hosting Bethany College Saturday morning (Sept. 27) at 11 am at Adair-Austin Stadium.
Women's Soccer Falcons by the Numbers:
Overall: 2-2-1
KCAC: 0-0
Home: 1-0
Away: 1-2-1
Scoring zero goals: 0-2-1
Scoring one goal: 0-0
Scoring two goals: 0-0
Scoring three goals: 0-0
Scoring 4+ goals: 2-0
Allowing zero goals: 2-0-1
Allowing one goal: 0-0
Allowing two goals: 0-0
Allowing three goals: 0-0
Allowing 4+ goals: 0-2
Leading at halftime: 2-0
Trailing at halftime: 0-2
Tied at halftime: 0-0-1
Leading in shots-on-goal: 2-0-1
Trailing in shots-on-goal: 0-2
Shots-on-goal are even: 0-0
