UP NEXT » Texas Lutheran begins its third run in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Championship as they face Whitman College at Trinity University on Saturday at 6:30 PM. The Blues are coming off a 3-1 win over Pacific Lutheran to win the Northwest Conference Championship. This will be a first-time matchup between the two squads.
NEW FACES IN THE POSTSEASON » Texas Lutheran and Whitman were both selected to participate in the San Antonio, Texas (Trinity) Regional in Monday's NCAA selection show, marking the first appearance since 2019 for TLU and third overall. Whitman will be making its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the program's 47-year history. Texas Lutheran has never made it past the first round in its previous two appearances.
BULLDOGS VS. THE FIELD » Texas Lutheran compiled a 1-1 record against teams in the NCAA tournament field this season, defeating Hardin-Simmons (2-0) and dropping their match against Trinity (1-0). Both teams the Bulldogs faced in the NCAA Tournament field will face off against one another in the San Antonio regional.
ALL-CONFERENCE NODS » Senior midfielder Evan Bremauntz (Grapevine/Colleyville Heritage) and freshman defender Alex Hart (Missouri City/Ridge Point) were named All-SCAC First Team. Junior defender Carson Alldredge (Spring/Klein), freshman goalkeeper Ernesto Avila (Houston/Humble), and forward Jesus Carrillo (San Antonio/Reagan) earned spots on the All-SCAC Second Team. Sophomore midfielder Ben Gutierrez (Houston/Sam Houston), freshman midfielder Max Guzman (San Marcos/San Marcos), senior midfielder Carlos Longoria (Brownsville/Rivera), freshman defender Elijah Lopez (North Richland Hills/Richland), sophomore forward Evan Pacheco (San Antonio/Central Catholic), and sophomore forward Raymond Palmer (San Antonio/Clark) notched All-SCAC honorable mention accolades while freshmen Avila, Carrillo, Guzman, and Hart secured All-Freshman honors. Head Coach Eddie Salazar earned Co-Coaching Staff of the Year honors, the second in his career.
LAST TIME OUT » The Texas Lutheran men's soccer team captured the 2025 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Men's Soccer Tournament Championship, 1-0, over the Colorado College Tigers (12-1-6) last Sunday at Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in front of a large pack of TLU fans. It was the third tournament title in program history joining the team's 2002 American Southwest Conference (ASC) Championship and the 2019 SCAC Tournament Championship. The championship win is the second in as many chances in the SCAC Tournament Championship with both coming against Colorado College. In the 19th minute, senior Evan Bremauntz found senior Carlos Longoria who sent a ball from around 30 yards out screaming past the Tigers keeper for the game winner. The goal was his first of the season and just the third of his career. Following the match, Longoria was named the Tournament's Offensive MVP.
SPREADING THE WEALTH » TLU has had a balanced approach on offense this season, with 13 different goal scorers and 18 total Bulldogs contributing to the scoresheet. Jesus Carrillo leads the Bulldogs with six goals, followed by Evan Pacheco and Raymond Palmer with four goals each and Evan Bremauntz with three. Pacheco and freshman Max Guzman have been Texas Lutheran's leading distributors with five assists each. Texas Lutheran finished last season with 16 players recording at least one point, including six who scored multiple goals and 13 with multiple points. Current TLU assistant Louis Hart and Erick Lopez paced last year's group with nine points.
TEAM STATISTICAL SUCCESS » Texas Lutheran has outpaced its opponents in every statistical category so far this season, holding an advantage in goals (31-12), shots (281-183), shots on goal (136-82), shots per game (14.8-9.6), assists (29-8), and corner kicks (125-48).
FRESH FACES » Texas Lutheran's newcomer class as a whole has made a substantial impact on the Bulldogs' success, with five freshmen finding the scoresheet this season. Jesus Carrillo leads the group and team with six goals, while Max Guzman also added two goals. Meanwhile, Guzman paces the entire team with five assists. Five freshmen have logged over 500 minutes this season.
SCOUTING THE BLUES » Making their NCAA Tournament debut, Whitman College enters the championship with a 14-0-6 record under 11th-year head coach Jose Cedeno, Under Cedeno, the Blues have been mainstays near the top of the Northwest Conference (NWC) and finally broke through to win the NWC this season. Lucas McAllister leads the Blues with 12 goals and eight assists and he is supported by 2024 NWC Rookie of the Year, Kevin Serrano (five goals) and Fernando Lopez-Vega (nine goals). Niclas Isensee has had five shutouts with 57 saves in 17 starts. Isensee leads the NWC in goals against average (.908) and save percentage (.792).
