Men's Soccer 10/3/2026 12:43:00 AM

Men's Soccer Gameday Preview: Falcons look for five in a row against York

The Lowdown: York University at Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium

Kickoff: Oct. 3 @ 5:30 PM

Live Stream: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/

Live Stats: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/msoc/2026-27/conf/KCAC/Box_Scores/20261003_v2ds.xml

Flying with the Falcons (6-2-1, 4-0 KCAC)

The last game for the Falcons featured a 2-0 shutout over Saint Mary. The Falcons kept the pressure on the Spires throughout the whole game as they have all season. In the 1st half the Falcons recorded seven shots and had a terrific goal from Erik Huerta from 35 yards out. Elijah Castillo grabbed his 2nd goal of the season to make the final 2-0.

Austin Wyn Davies and Diego Marin lead the Falcons in scoring with five goals each. The Falcons offense has been terrific this season as they put the pressure on their opponents getting shots on net. Throughout conference play the Falcons have started off to a hot 4-0 with their terrific offense.

Cameron Stout and Keagan Lewis have been splitting games playing goalkeeper for the Falcons. Each have played four games and have accumulated three shutouts.

Tape on York (6-1-1, 3-0-1 KCAC)

The Panthers of York tied their last game against Tabor College who have yet to grab their first win of the season so this would be a good way for the Panthers to bounce back against a tough Falcons squad. Asaph Achero is the leading scorer for the Panthers with 9 goals and also has 2 assists, averaging just over a goal a game. Tim Schafer has 4 goals right behind him.

Jamie Watt has started 8 out of the 9 games for York with a 1.29 GAA and a 65.5% save percentage.

The Coaches:

Bryan Perez is in his sixth season as head coach of the Friends University men's soccer program.

In 2024, Perez coached three All-KCAC players and led the Falcons to a 6-4-3 record in the KCAC.

During the 2023 campaign, Perez guided the Falcons to a 9-6-5 overall record and a 7-2-4 mark in the KCAC. The Falcons advanced to the KCAC postseason tournament semifinal round and had top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University on the ropes, but OKWU tied the score with 16 seconds left in regulation and pulled out a 3-2 win in double-overtime.

In 2022, the Falcons finished fifth in the league after coming in as the third seed in Perez's debut season as head coach.

During his first season in 2021, Perez helped the Falcons to a 12-4-1 overall record, including winning 12 of their final 15 matches.

In his first season with the program as an assistant coach, Perez helped the Falcons capture the KCAC tournament championship and achieve the program's first NAIA National Tournament berth since the 2007 season.

Perez was recently named the head coach of FC Wichita, a local men's soccer amateur team that is a member of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). He also functions as the Technical Director for the program.

Prior to taking his position at FC Wichita, Perez served as the Director of Coaching for Alliance FC in Kansas City, where he led the coaches and developed the soccer curriculum.

His professional playing career includes competing for six years for the Kansas City Comets, an indoor soccer team in the Major Arena Soccer League. He led the Comets to a pair of championships, including an undefeated season in 2015.

He was also called to play for the United States Men's National Futsal team for their 2012 and 2016 World Cup Qualifying teams.

Perez played collegiately at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and enjoyed a standout career that resulted in him being inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.

He wrapped up his playing career at UMKC as the team's all-time leader in goals (29), points (70) and games played (78).

Perez was a four-time All-Summit league performer, including earning first-team honors on three occasions.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from UMKC in 2010 and currently resides in Wichita with his wife Jamie and two children, Mila (seven) and Enzo (four).

Benny Hanaphy played his entire undergraduate career for the men's soccer program from 2005-2008. While playing at York, Hanaphy was team captain for 3 years and earned multiple accolades:

2005: 2nd Team All-Conference MCAC

2006 :1st Team All-Conference MCAC, 1st Team All-Region, 2nd Team NCCAA All-American, NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, & Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for York College

2007: 1st Team All-Conference MCAC, Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for York College

2008: 2nd Team All-Conference MCAC

After graduating with degrees in English & Physical Education in 2010, Hanaphy continued his playing career in the PDL (Premier Development League) for two seasons; one in Kalamazoo, MI, and the other in New Orleans, LA. In 2011, he pursued his Masters in Education from Concordia University (NE), where he was the GA (Graduate Assistant) with the men's soccer team, ultimately helping them towards their first GPAC title victory and trip to NAIA nationals.

Hanaphy grew up in Kilkenny, Ireland, played in the League of Ireland (Kilkenny City F.C.), and played for Colaiste Ide in Dublin in 2004-05 prior to moving to America. Colaiste Ide won the national championship that year and traveled to Memphis, TN in 2005 to play in a tournament. After winning the tournament, Benny was subsequently offered a scholarship to York.

Coach Hanaphy and his wife Gladis moved to York in the fall of 2022. Hanaphy has taught high school English throughout the state of Nebraska. He spent two years in Lexington, six years in Grand Island, and is currently teaching at York High School. He will transition full time to York University in the fall of 2024, where he will co-coach both the men's and women's programs, as well as teaching education courses on campus. Hanaphy is also the head coach for the York High School boys soccer team. Together, he and Gladis have three children, Ava (9), Nayla (6) and Sean (2).

Greg Reynolds played for the men's program from 1996-1999. Reynolds was a team captain for three years and earned First-Team All-Conference honors as a forward. After graduating from York with a degree in Business Administration, he continued his playing career for the Wichita Jets, a Semi-Professional team in the PDL. After completing his playing career he came back to York to be an assistant coach for both the men's and women's soccer programs. He then moved to Colorado where he has been coaching in the Colorado Soccer Club system for over a decade.

Coach Reynolds and his wife Jaime (Cox 02') have four children, Gracie, who is currently a Senior at YU on the women's soccer team, Ellie is a Freshman, and twins Ruby and Jett (14).

Up Next: The Falcons will go to Bartlesville, Oklahoma and take on No. 12 Oklahoma Wesleyan on Wednesday (Oct. 7) with a time TBA.

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 6-2-1

KCAC: 4-0

Home: 3-0

Away: 3-2-1

Scoring zero goals: 0-0

Scoring one goal: 6-2-1

Scoring two goals: 5-1-1

Scoring three goals: 3-0-1

Scoring 4+ goals: 2-0

Allowing zero goals: 5-0