Men's Soccer 9/30/2026 12:53:00 PM

Men's Soccer Gameday Preview: Falcons return home for a conference tilt against Saint Mary

The Lowdown: University of Saint Mary at Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium

Kickoff: Sep. 30 @ 7:30 PM

Live Stream: https://www.urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/1872

Live Stats: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/msoc/2026-27/conf/KCAC/Box_Scores/20260930_p0a7.xml

Flying with the Falcons (5-2-1, 3-0 KCAC)

The Falcons were on the road for five straight games in the month of September and return back to Wichita with a 3-1-1 record in those games. The Falcons are starting conference play undefeated with a 3-0 record beating Southwestern, Kansas Wesleyan, and Bethany. The last time the Falcons were 3-0 to start conference play was in the 2022 season.

The last game for the Falcons featured a hat trick from Austin Wyn Davies and a 5-0 shutout over Bethany. 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. Friends offense has put up 142 shots through their first eight games of the season with 82 of those on net.

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

About the Spires (2-4-2, 2-2 KCAC)

The Spires dropped their last game to McPherson College losing 3-0. Rylan Nowak and Luis Rincon lead St. Mary in goals with two each. Xavier Ezell has started in every game for the Spires' this season. Ezell has a 1.78 GAA with a 73.6% save percentage.

The Series: The Falcons have had the Spires' number in the history of recorded matches against each other. St. Mary won against Friends last year shutting them out 2-0 but the Falcons have a 19-4 all time record against the Spires. Since 2004 the Falcons have not lost a home game to St. Mary with a 12-0 record to show for it.

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).

Derek Mazeitis will enter his 22nd season at the helm of the University of Saint Mary Men's Soccer program, taking over as head coach in 2005.

During his tenure at Saint Mary, Coach Mazeitis has seen his teams earn berths into regional, conference post-season play and the NAIA National Tournament. Under the direction of Mazeitis, many Spires have received All-KCAC and All-Region recognition. Spire athletes have been named KCAC Goalkeeper of the Year, KCAC Newcomer of the Year, and KCAC Freshman of the Year. During his tenure, several Spires have been named to the KCAC All conference teams with First Team, Second Team, and Honorable Mention recognition.

Coach Mazeitis has also seen some of his players recognized as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, and his teams have received KCAC All-Scholar Team recognition. He has also had multiple teams recognized as the KCAC Team of Character.

Mazeitis received a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from Truman State University (Kirksville, Missouri) in 1996 and received a Master's degree in Education from the University of Saint Mary in 2010.

Coach Mazeitis, a native of Leavenworth, enjoys spending time with his wife, Dana, and their two sons, Aidan and Cooper at home in Kansas City, Missouri.

Up Next: The Falcons will play York at Adair-Austin Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 3) at 5:30pm

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 5-2-1

KCAC: 3-0

Home: 2-0

Away: 3-2-1

Scoring zero goals: 0-0

Scoring one goal: 5-2-1

Scoring two goals: 4-1-1

Scoring three goals: 3-0-1

Scoring 4+ goals: 2-0

Allowing zero goals: 4-0