Men's Soccer Tied for 2nd in Preseason GPAC Poll
(Hastings, NE) – Similar to the final GPAC standings last year, the 2025 men’s soccer preseason GPAC poll showed just how evenly the teams at the top of the conference matched up. The Broncos received the most first-place votes with five, but finished tied for second with Concordia, who had one one first-place vote, in overall points with 84. Morningside was the top vote getter, receiving 87 points and three first-place votes. Midland finished in fourth place with 77 points and received the other two first-place votes.
(Hastings, NE) – Similar to the final GPAC standings last year, the 2025 men's soccer preseason GPAC poll showed just how evenly the teams at the top of the conference matched up. The Broncos received the most first-place votes with five, but finished tied for second with Concordia, who had one one first-place vote, in overall points with 84. Morningside was the top vote getter, receiving 87 points and three first-place votes. Midland finished in fourth place with 77 points and received the other two first-place votes.
New to the team this year is head coach Luke Cottage, who spent the 2024 season as the coach of Kansas Christian, leading them to a 10-3-3 record and an appearance in the NCCAA Tournament. The Broncos return their top goal scorer from a year ago in forward Tim Berger, who scored 11 goals in his freshman year and was named All-GPAC First Team.
Fellow sophomore forward Moises Trochez looks to build off of a promising freshman season as well, scoring four goals and being named All-GPAC Honorable Mention. Forward Wade McWhorter enters his senior year after being fourth on the team in goals with three last year.
Hastings will look to replace Lewis Albert, who was second on the team in goals a year ago and scored the game-winning goal to give the Broncos the GPAC Tournament title. They will also have a new assist leader this year following the graduation of Joe Vokins.
Other returners include senior defender Juan Lopez-Arteaga, who started all but one game and had two goals and three assists. Senior defenders David Maqueda and Sebastian Palmer started 16 and 17 games last season, respectively, and senior midfielder David Hoti returns to the lineup this year after recording one goal in 10 starts, primarily playing as a defender.
The Broncos will also be starting a new goalkeeper following the graduation of Pablo Arce-Salinas. Junior Ethan Watkins started five games in goal last season, allowing just four goals.
Last season, the Broncos went 11-8-2 overall and 6-2-2 in conference. They started the year 2-5 in the non-conference, but turned it around by going 9-2-2 in their last 13 games, and earned a trip to the National Tournament with a GPAC Tournament Championship win over Concordia. The Broncos outscored their opponents 5-0 in the GPAC Tournament, before falling to Louisiana Christian in the first round of the NAIA Tournament.
Hastings will begin their regular season schedule on Saturday, August 23 at 3pm against Bellevue.
