Notes: KC Returns to League Play for First-Ever Meeting with UMass

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Kansas City Notes

Kansas City Men's Soccer returns to league play with road action at UMass, looking to maintain its position atop the Summit League standings. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Roos are neck-and-neck with Denver at nine points each.
The Roos closed out their non-conference schedule with a 2-0 win at Michigan State, the program's second-ever victory over a Big Ten program. The Summit League is 2-0 against the second-rated RPI conference in the NCAA this season as Denver picked up a 2-0 win over Washington on Aug. 21.
Kansas City carries a five-game winning streak into Saturday's match, tied for the second-longest in program history. This year's squad is one win away from tying the 1999 Roos' six-game streak and cementing its place in program history.
Raphael Kistmann has been on a heater for the Roos, scoring in each of the team's last three games. The 2024 Second Team All-League honoree won Summit Offensive Peak Performer of the Week on Tuesday, making him the fourth Roo to win a weekly award this season.
Marc Popow has remained steady in goal for Kansas City, allowing just three goals in the Roos' last eight games. He currently ranks top-40 in the NCAA in goals against average (0.714; 20th), save percentage (78.7%; 37th) and shutouts (6; 31st).

UMass Notes

UMass enters Saturday's match with a 6-4-6 record and a 1-2-2 mark in Summit League play. The Minutemen's lone Summit League victory came against Denver, who accounts for KC's lone Summit League loss.
The Minutemen are led offensively by John Paul Mbuthia, who ranks fifth in the Summit and 65th nationally with six goals scored this year.
Mbuthia and Matt Cence each have 14 points on the season, breaking the top-100 in the NCAA.
As a team, UMass ranks second in the Summit League with an average of 6.38 shots on goal per game.
These teams' first meeting as Summit League foes will also go down as the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

University of Missouri Kansas City Athletics