Preview: Men's Soccer Clashes With Utah Valley in WAC Tournament First Round

General Tournament Notes

The postseason has arrived and the Kansas City (6-10-0) Men's Soccer team earned the No. 7 seed in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament hosted by Air Force.
The tournament appearance is the first for the program since the 2014 season, meaning this will be a first-time experience for all players on the roster.
Kansas City matches up with No. 2 seed Utah Valley (11-6-1) on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round at 7 p.m. CT televised live on ESPN+.
Wednesday's winner takes on the winner of the No. 3 seed Air Force and No. 6 seed Houston Baptist on Friday at 7 p.m. CT in the semifinals.
The WAC championship is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.

Roos WAC Tournament Play At A Glance

Since entering the Western Athletic Conference in 2013, Kansas City has made the tournament twice (2013, 2014). In those two years, the Roos have gone 1-2 overall. In 2013, the #7 Roos fell to #2 CSUB 1-0. In 2014, the #4 Roos defeated #5 SJSU 3-0 in the first round, then lost to #1 UNLV 3-0 in the semifinals.

Regular Season Highlights

Kansas City ends the 2019 regular season campaign with its best conference record (5-6-0) since the 2014 regular season, where they went 5-4-1.
Newcomer Ryan Khedoo, a junior transfer from St. Louis CC, has been a big addition to the Roos attack this season. He led the team in goals (4), had two game winners, and created several opportunities on the attack. He was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 6 - 13 for his two goal and one assist contribution that led to two wins that week.
The team had a tough mountain to climb from the beginning of the season, as the program returned just five of its regular starters from last season. Through the first eight games the Roos went 1-7, as it was evident that the players needed some time to get a feel for each others game. Through the last eight games, the team had a winning record of 5-3.
Roos GK Filippo Errico racked up a WAC second-best 79 saves on the season.

All WAC Honors

Junior transfer from St. Louis CC Ryan Khedoo was honored with second-team All-WAC after bursting onto the scene. Khedoo scored four goals this season (led the team) and added in one assist. Khedoo hails from Brampton, Ontario.
Freshman Aiden Cavanaugh was honored with All-WAC Freshman Team. Cavanaugh, a forward from Saint Paul, Minn., scored two goals this season and had two assists to match.
Freshman Kevin Komodi was also honored with All-WAC Freshman team. Komodi, a MF from Budapest, Hungary, racked up a team high three assists and added two goals for the Roos this season.

Matchup History

Utah Valley currently holds a 4-2-0 advantage all-time against Kansas City. The teams first met on Oct. 26, 2014.
These two teams have not squared off against each other in the postseason, making this a first time matchup.
The last time these two teams matched up was this year in the regular season on Oct. 19, 2019. The Roos took down UVU 2-1 in a thriller of a game. Aiden Cavanaugh and Ryan Khedoo (game-winner) scored for KC, while Blake Frischknecht scored the lone goal for UVU.
Wednesday's winner takes on the winner of the No. 3 seed Air Force and No. 6 seed Houston Baptist on Friday at 7 p.m. CT in the semifinals.
The WAC championship is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.

Roos By The Numbers

In 16 games played this season, the Roos have only out-shot its opponents in 3 games. The team plays a deep back-line and draws opposing teams forward so they can beat them on the counter. In fact, opponents are out-shooting the Roos 273-135.
Kansas City has won 4 of its 5 total wins when scoring 2 goals.

Errico In The History Books

Roos GK Filippo Errico ranks second all-time in Roos history in minutes played. He moved up into second last game vs. HBU. He also has 285 saves and now only needs four more saves to move into second all-time.

Scouting Utah Valley

Blake Frischknecht leads UVU in goals with 12, ranking him second-best in the WAC in that category. He leads the WAC in shots with 82 this season, 20 more than second in the WAC Seattle U's McGlynn and 56 more shots than the second shot taker on UVU in Zach Maas (26).
Utah Valley has been in-and-out of national polls like Top Drawer Soccer top-25 rankings etc. At one point, the team received votes for a national ranking.
The last time Kansas City played UVU, coming into the game UVU was on a four game hot streak. When dropping a 2-1 decision to the Roos, UVU went on to lose two more games, adding up to a three game losing streak. They then ended the year with three straight wins. The team goes on hot streaks and can be dangerous when on one.

University of Missouri Kansas City Athletics