The Lowdown: Bethany College at Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium      

Kickoff: Sept. 27 @ 11:00 AM

Live Stream: https://urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/2859

Live Stats: https://friendsathletics.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary

Flying with the Women's Soccer Falcons (3-2-2, 1-0-1, KCAC)

The Falcons are 3-2-2 and 1-0-1 in the KCAC following Monday's conclusion of a previously suspended match against Southwestern that resulted in a scoreless draw. Friends defeated (RV) Kansas Wesleyan University 2-1 last Saturday (Sept. 20).

Kieley Aranda leads the Falcons with three goals and Trinity Granger is tops on the team and tied for second in the KCAC with three assists. Mackenzie Cunningham has also scored two goals with one assist, while Anahi Ibarra-Arevalo has one goal and two helpers.

Morgan Wilkinson has 27 saves with a 1.18 goals-against average during her nearly 608 minutes in the net for Friends. 

Dish on the Swedes (1-3-1, 1-1 KCAC)

The Bethany College Swedes are 1-3-1 overall and have split two matches in the KCAC this season. Bethany is coming off a 2-2 draw vs. Central Christian after opening conference action with a 2-1 win over a Sterling College and a 7-0 setback at Avila University.

Londyn Salinas leads the Swedes with two goals and Jysell Sampedro has a team-leading two assists.

Marie Miera Y Moseley has played all 450 minutes in the net and has a 3.20 GAA with 23 saves on the season.

The Series: The Falcons are unbeaten in the last seven meetings vs. Bethany, with five victories and two draws. Friends has won the last three matchups, taking last season's contest 2-0 in a match played at Stryker Sports Complex on Nov. 2.

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.

Elliott Cockrum is in his first season as head coach of the Bethany College women's soccer program. Previously, Cockrum was the head coach of the reserve team at nearby Central Christian College.

Cockrum has also made coaching stops at Kansas Wesleyan University, Rogers State University, Southwestern College and Oklahoma Baptist University.

Up Next: The Falcons will hit the road for the first time in conference play next Wednesday (Oct. 1) at 5 pm at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kan.

Women's Soccer Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 3-2-2

KCAC: 1-0-1

Home: 2-0-1

Away: 1-2-1

Scoring zero goals: 0-2-2

Scoring one goal: 0-0

Scoring two goals: 1-0

Scoring three goals: 0-0

Scoring 4+ goals: 2-0

Allowing zero goals: 2-0-2

Allowing one goal: 1-0

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: 1-0-2

Leading in shots-on-goal: 3-0-2

Trailing in shots-on-goal: 0-2

Shots-on-goal are even: 0-0