Thursday, August 21
Riverside, Calif.
7:00 PM
California Baptist University
vs
American University
Photo by: Ryley Collom
MSOC Preview: Lancers to Open the Season Thursday Night Against American
8/18/2025 9:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
RIVERSIDE --- The road to crowning a champion in Riverside kicks off Thursday night as head coach Coe Michaelson and his squad welcome American University to CBU Soccer Stadium. With the WAC Tournament returning to Riverside in 2025, Michaelson and the Lancers are poised to end their WAC tenure as three-time conference champions.
"We have the home field (advantage). I'm not going to play it down. If we are not playing in the NCAA Tournament, that is going to be a disappointment. I'm not going to say any less, because that's what my players expect as well," said Michaelson on hosting the WAC Tournament in 2025.
Michaelson continued, "Do I think it will be easy? Do I think it's assured? Definitely not. But would I trade my squad for anyone in the conference? I would not trade my squad for anyone in the conference, and I know that everyone in the conference would swap places with us because we get to host (the conference tournament)."
The Lancers return 11 players who received time on the pitch in 2024, a season that ended with CBU finishing 6-8-5 (4-4-1 WAC). Most notably, all-conference selections Stavros Charalampous (First Team) and Hugo Do Rego (Second Team) return, along with All-Freshman selections Blake D'Agostino and Andrew Lovell.
The Lancers also welcome a recruiting class of 14 newcomers: seven transfers and seven incoming freshmen. Five of the 28 players on the 2025 roster are seniors or graduate students, giving the Lancers a young core built for the future.
"We owe it to our seniors from last year to be the best we can be, and we owe it to our seniors this year to be the same," added Michaelson. "Even though we only have a few of them."
Michaelson later commented, "We're going to have some real challenges. I just can't get past the depth we have. We keep getting deeper and deeper, and every year I feel like I've said it, but we could legitimately put two good college soccer teams on the field and still have a few guys sitting on the side going 'what about me?' who are pretty good."
This new core will get its first look at competition on Thursday when American visits Southern California. CBU kicked off the 2024 season against American in Maryland, resulting in a scoreless draw. The season will then take the Lancers on the road for a match against CSU Bakersfield before returning home on August 30 to battle Cal Poly.
Bakersfield and Cal Poly are two of the six looks CBU will get at its future home, the Big West. Other opponents are Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and Utah Valley. The crosstown showdown with UC Riverside is slated for September 26.
The Lancers will battle the nation's best in 2025 as they square off with preseason-ranked opponents (10) San Diego and (16) West Virginia. CBU will visit the Toreros in San Diego on September 4, one week before jetting across the country to Morgantown to battle the Mountaineers. CBU's 3-2 loss to WVU, then ranked No. 1 in the nation, was the marquee contest of the 2024 schedule.
CBU's final WAC season kicks off on October 4 with a visit to San Jose State. The WAC season will conclude with the WAC Tournament in Riverside, beginning on November 9 and ending with the conference championship match on November 15.
For more information on the 2025 season, subscribe to the Lancer Athletic Podcast to hear the latest episode with head coach Coe Michaelson. The 2025 schedule can be viewed HERE.
Tickets for the 2025 season are on sale HERE.
"We have the home field (advantage). I'm not going to play it down. If we are not playing in the NCAA Tournament, that is going to be a disappointment. I'm not going to say any less, because that's what my players expect as well," said Michaelson on hosting the WAC Tournament in 2025.
Michaelson continued, "Do I think it will be easy? Do I think it's assured? Definitely not. But would I trade my squad for anyone in the conference? I would not trade my squad for anyone in the conference, and I know that everyone in the conference would swap places with us because we get to host (the conference tournament)."
The Lancers return 11 players who received time on the pitch in 2024, a season that ended with CBU finishing 6-8-5 (4-4-1 WAC). Most notably, all-conference selections Stavros Charalampous (First Team) and Hugo Do Rego (Second Team) return, along with All-Freshman selections Blake D'Agostino and Andrew Lovell.
The Lancers also welcome a recruiting class of 14 newcomers: seven transfers and seven incoming freshmen. Five of the 28 players on the 2025 roster are seniors or graduate students, giving the Lancers a young core built for the future.
"We owe it to our seniors from last year to be the best we can be, and we owe it to our seniors this year to be the same," added Michaelson. "Even though we only have a few of them."
Michaelson later commented, "We're going to have some real challenges. I just can't get past the depth we have. We keep getting deeper and deeper, and every year I feel like I've said it, but we could legitimately put two good college soccer teams on the field and still have a few guys sitting on the side going 'what about me?' who are pretty good."
This new core will get its first look at competition on Thursday when American visits Southern California. CBU kicked off the 2024 season against American in Maryland, resulting in a scoreless draw. The season will then take the Lancers on the road for a match against CSU Bakersfield before returning home on August 30 to battle Cal Poly.
Bakersfield and Cal Poly are two of the six looks CBU will get at its future home, the Big West. Other opponents are Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and Utah Valley. The crosstown showdown with UC Riverside is slated for September 26.
The Lancers will battle the nation's best in 2025 as they square off with preseason-ranked opponents (10) San Diego and (16) West Virginia. CBU will visit the Toreros in San Diego on September 4, one week before jetting across the country to Morgantown to battle the Mountaineers. CBU's 3-2 loss to WVU, then ranked No. 1 in the nation, was the marquee contest of the 2024 schedule.
CBU's final WAC season kicks off on October 4 with a visit to San Jose State. The WAC season will conclude with the WAC Tournament in Riverside, beginning on November 9 and ending with the conference championship match on November 15.
For more information on the 2025 season, subscribe to the Lancer Athletic Podcast to hear the latest episode with head coach Coe Michaelson. The 2025 schedule can be viewed HERE.
Tickets for the 2025 season are on sale HERE.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Soccer
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GK
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