PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- The Yavapai College men's soccer team kicks off its 33rd overall season and 2nd season under Head Coach Andre Luciano Thursday at Mountain Valley Park in Prescott Valley. 

"This weekend will be an excellent opportunity for us to showcase ourselves and to establish a playing rhythm in terms of what we are trying to create this year as a program," said Coach Luciano. "We have a tradition of excellence to uphold and with that a responsibility to perform at an optimum level."

The Games
The Roughriders play host to the Coyotes from the College of Southern Nevada Thursday at 5 p.m. After an off day on Friday, Yavapai is back in action against Community Chrisitan College Saturday at 5 p.m. Both matches take place at Prescott Valley's Mountain Valley Park. 

In addition, both matches will be available to watch on GoRoughriders.com/Live. Individual broadcasts can be purchased for $8 while a season pass for broadcasts can be purchased for $35. 

Ticket prices for the match are as follows: $7 for adults, $5 for seniors (55 and older) and students and free for children (0-6), Yavapai students with ID and Yavapai staff and faculty with ID.

The Coyotes
Last season, the College of Southern Nevada went 4-8 and saw its season end in the Region 18 Tournament with a loss to Snow College. 

The Roughriders and Coyotes have previously matched up twice with Yavapai winning both matches while outscoring Southern Nevada 9-2. 

Community Christian College
Community Christian College is a private two-year college located in Redlands, California.

In their lone matchup with Community Christian, the Roughriders delivered a 13-0 victory that became Coach Luciano's (the second coach in Yavapai men's soccer's history) first career victory at Yavapai, taking place during the 2020-21 season. 

The Roughriders
During the pandemic-delayed 2020-21 season, Yavapai went 9-3-1 and saw its season come to an end in the district championship game with a 2-1 loss to the Salt Lake Community College Bruins. The Bruins went on to win the national championship in 2020-21. 

This season, the Roughriders check in at No. 12 with 64 points in the NJCAA DI Men's Soccer Preseason Poll. 

The 2021 squad features a roster of 26 student-athletes with 17 newcomers and nine returners. Of the returners, Yavapai brings back its top-two goalkeepers in Hudson Bodily and Josue Ruiz and two of its top-three scorers in Iann Topete and Dauda Woodruff.

One Last Thing
The Riders outscored their opponents 43-12 last season with a 3.31 goals-per-game average.