Season Opener - Thursday, August 25
UC MERCED at CAL STATE EAST BAY
Where: Hayward, Calif. 
Stadium: Pioneer Stadium
Time: 1 p.m.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS

Saturday, August 27
NORTHWEST NAZARENE at CAL STATE EAST BAY
Where: Hayward, Calif. 
Stadium: Pioneer Stadium
Time: 5 p.m.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS

The Cal State East Bay men's soccer team opens its 2022 season this week with a pair of home matches starting Thursday afternoon. It will be the seventh year for the Pioneers under the direction of Mike Bielski. 

The Pioneers will look to improve on a 3-13-1 record from 2021. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Josh Gaeckle - Forward
After logging 1191 minutes in 2021, Gaeckle had three goals and a pair of assists as the Pioneers' leading scorer. One assist was on the game-winning goal in last year's season finale. Gaeckle's 27 shots was tied for the team lead. 

Aaron Farnan  - Midfielder
Farnan logged 966 minutes in 2021 with 11 starts. He tallied two goals and added an assist. His most recent goal was in the 2021 season finale. 

Daniil Menshikov - Midfielder
Menshikov appeared in all 17 matches last season with one goal and one assist. 

ABOUT UC MERCED

The Bobcats are coming off a 14-5-0 season in 2021 in which they won the CalPac Championship match and lost in the opening round of the NAIA Championship to St. Thomas (Fla.). Robert Ceja and Marcos Ceballos return to the 2022 roster after scoring 11 goals each in 2022. 

ABOUT NORTHWEST NAZARENE

The Nighthawks will be playing their second match of the season when they meet the Pioneers on Saturday. They open with a match against Cal Poly Humboldt on Thursday. In exhibition play, NNU defeated College of Idaho, 1-0 on August 19. NNU finished 8-8-0 in 2021 with the leading scorers (five goals each in 2021) Lukas Juodkunaitis and Sebastian Cotrau returning to the Nighthawks' roster.