All things athletic are heating up at the University of St. Thomas-Houston. Previews of upcoming 2022 events are out for Men’s and Women’s Soccer as well as Cross Country.

Men’s Soccer

Men’s Soccer will play 16 games and eight SCAC matchups as the mighty team defends its SCAC title against a field of 14 other teams.

In a rematch of last season's 1-0 nail-biting victory, the Celts will open their season against Concordia.

In the SCAC, the champions from St. Thomas will have will face the likes of Trinity, Southwestern, Colorado College and TLU.

Five of the Celt's All-SCAC performers will return in 2022. First team featured Ian Alverez. Second team included Daniel Castro and Rodrigo Lazo. Finally, seniors Andres Marquez and Gabe Salako achieved honorable mentions.

Forward Daniel Castro will look to build off his success in 2021. As a freshman, he scored 12 goals, ranking third in the SCAC. He also notched a spot for himself in the St. Thomas record books as his career goal number is sixth of all time.

The reigning Coach of the Year Ian Clerihew will return for his fifth season as head coach for Men's Soccer. Responsible for guiding Celt Men's Soccer to the NCAA, Clerihew has achieved back-to-back conference title game appearances. Now a full-time member of NCAA Division III, a conference victory would advance St. Thomas to the national tournament.

"This year is very exciting for me. Our guys now have the opportunity to compete at a higher level which will show in our trainings and games," Coach Ian Clerihew added. 

To view the full schedule, click here!

Women’s Soccer

The Women’s Soccer season features 18 contests, 14 of which are SCAC matchups. They also have nine home games across Houston Sports Park and Aveva Stadium.

Like last season, the Celts will open their season against Howard Payne University. They will look to avenge the 5-4 loss before they open conference play against Centenary.

St. Thomas will return every one of its all-conference performers in 2022. Leading this group will be seniors Mary Pham and Karson Funderburk who earned second-team honors. Senior Kelsie Droptini and Brooke Le also picked up an honorable mention. Finally, Kayla Tomlinson was named to the all-freshman team. 

Offensively, Funderburk will spark the Celt attack. She led the team last season with eight points, notching two goals and playing every game. Karson will anchor a forward line that includes Emily McCoy and Brooke Le. 

Defensively, goalkeeper Briana Salinas will build upon her success last season. In the cage, she posted both of the Celt victories and two of the three ties. Her outstanding nine-save performance against ETBU notched her SCAC defensive player of the week honors.

Head Coach Nick Morrison returns for his fourth season leading UST Women's Soccer.

"We are excited about this upcoming season and building off of the success that we ended the year with last Fall," Nick Morrison said. "With the addition of 13 new players and some new additions to our coaching staff, we are ready to get off to a quick start and excited about the potential of this team and program going forward."

To view the full schedule, click here!

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country

Not ready for a cool-down, UST’s Men’s and Women’s Cross Country team will compete in seven meets, including the SCAC championship. The Celts intend to build on last season’s success with strong veteran leadership and a fast young core.

The Celts will open their season at home at the Celt Open at Bear Creek Pioneer's Park. This will prepare them for the North Hersey Rice Invitational on September 9th. Both meets will feature competition from the NCAA Division I level, testing the Celts before SCAC play.  

The Celts will feature all-conference performer Jhancarlos Carpio for his sophomore season. Senior Lucas Wolf will also return, as he clocked a top twenty individual finish in 2021. 

Our Women's team will aim to improve upon their consecutive top three placement. Both teams had runners at the NCAA national championships last season.

Head Coach Ryan Dohner returns for his fifth season leading our cross country program. First introduced in 2017, Dohner is also responsible for track and field and led both programs into the NCAA. His athletes are now eligible for national individual and team competitions. 

"This marks our 5th season now in school history. We feel like we are starting to establish an expectation of what it means to represent UST on a competitive level," Dohner said. "On the men's side, we are returning some key players from last year's squad as well as some fresh faces that should make an immediate impact on our team. Our women's team will have missing pieces; however, we do have some good runners coming in to fill that void."

"The competition at the conference this year is as fierce as ever," Dohner added. "We are pumped to have the best season in school history at a progressing competition level." 

To view the full schedule, visit ustcelts.com for both men's and women's meet dates.