The Lowdown: Central Christian College (Kan.) at Friends University
Location: Adair-Austin Stadium
Kickoff: Sep. 2 @ 7:30 PM
Live Stream: https://www.urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/1873
Live Stats: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/msoc/2026-27/boxscores/20260902_42xl.xml
Flying with the Falcons (1-1-0, 0-0 KCAC)
The Falcons lost 4-2 in their last game against Southwestern Christian. Kal Coulthard and Jose Quiel grabbed their first goals of the season for the Falcons. Friends was outshot throughout the contest and the Falcons' goalkeeper, Keagan Lewis, made 5 saves. Falcons look to lead in the shots on goal category like they did against Oklahoma City.
Tape on the Tigers (1-0-1, 0-0 SAC)
The Tigers of Central Christian are 1-0-1 on the season, tying KCAC conference rival Bethel 2-2 and then defeating Paul Quinn College 2-0 with goals from Tendai Machingura and Moritz Bienmuller. The early season leading scorer for the Tigers is Machingura with 2 goals. Nawjot Bhandal has been the primary goalkeeper for the Tigers with a save percentage of .714 and just allowing a goal a game early in the season.
The Series: The Falcons are undefeated against the Tigers in three total matches. These teams have not played each other much on record, the last time these teams played was all the way back in 2013 where the Falcons won 3-1.
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).
Nyasha Dube is entering into his 1st year at CCCK as the Head Men's Soccer Coach. He is originally from Hwange, Zimbabwe and is an alum of Central Baptist College. Nyasha graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Marketing in 2021 and a Master's Degree in Business Administration in 2024. He played soccer at Central Baptist College from 2018-2021 as a center midfielder, earning All-Conference honors in 2021, Academic All-Conference honors in 2021, and Honorable Mention All-Conference honors in 2019. He also earned the role as senior national team captain with the Zimbabwe National Team.
Before coming to Central Christian, Nyasha served as an assistant coach at Hendrix College. During his coaching career, he led his team to its most conference wins in more than 20 years while coaching two All-Conference players and three Academic All-Conference players. Nyasha is married and attends Central Baptist Church. In his free time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and watching the English Premier League.
Up Next: The Falcons will travel to Atchinson, Kan. and face Benedictine College Saturday (Sep. 5) at 11:00 am.
Falcons by the Numbers:
Overall: 1-1
KCAC: 0-0
Home: 1-0
Away: 0-1
Scoring zero goals: 0-0
Scoring one goal: 1-1
Scoring two goals: 1-1
Scoring three goals: 0-0
Scoring 4+ goals: 0-0
Allowing zero goals: 0-0
Allowing one goal: 1-1
Allowing two goals: 0-1
Allowing three goals: 0-1
Allowing 4+ goals: 0-1
Leading at halftime: 0-0
Trailing at halftime: 1-1
Tied at halftime: 0-0
Leading in shots-on-goal: 1-0
Trailing in shots-on-goal: 0-1
Shots-on-goal are even: 0-0
