By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's soccer team will play its first game since the fall of 2019 when the Bearcats host Corban University in an exhibition match on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. (PST). Coaches and players at Willamette are glad to be returning to action. Fans can watch the game through a live webcast. 

"I would say that we are really looking forward to getting into some real competition where we can give our younger guys a lot of good minutes and get them settled into the college game and speed of play," Willamette Head Coach Jared Rust said.

As the Bearcats take on the Warriors, Rust will be looking to determine how each player for the Bearcats will fit into the team, both for this spring and for the 2021 fall season. Willamette has a relatively young team with seven first-year players and seven sophomores. The Bearcats also features four juniors and six seniors.

"Being away for so long without having any matches has everybody within the squad anxious to see how they fit into the lineup and settle into their roles in the team," Rust commented. "Matches will be very helpful in allowing everyone to focus on their game and exactly what needs to be worked on and executed."

Several leading scorers return for the Bearcats.

Ryan Sato (Jr., M, Sunnyvalle, CA/Homestead HS) tied for the team lead in 2019 with six goals and also contributed six assists on his way to a team-high 18 total points. He took 44 total shots and placed 21 shots on goal. He provided the Bearcats with two game-winning goals, as Willamette finished the season at 11-4-4 overall, 8-4-2 in the Northwest Conference (3rd place). During his career, Sato has scored seven goals and 11 assists for 25 points. He was named First Team All-NWC in 2019.

Josh Schneider (Jr., F, Washougal, WA/Camas HS) recorded three goals and four assists last season. He provided WU with 21 total shots and 10 shots on goal. He scored the game-winning goal with 18 seconds left in regulation to lead Willamette to a 2-1 victory over Linfield College at Sparks Field on Oct. 12, 2019. Carter McCleary (Sr., F, Port Hadlock, WA/Chimacum HS) also scored three goals in 2019 for the Bearcats. He also contributed two assists. He took 33 total shots and had one game-winning goal.

In goal, Anthony Richard-Bassett (Salem, OR/South Salem HS) returns for his senior season. During 2018 and 2019, he backed up senior Mason Kelliher ('20). Last year, Richard-Bassett started two games and registered a 0.00 goals against average over 155 minutes of action. Over the past two seasons, he has played in eight games with seven starts, while achieving a 1.00 goals against average and 22 saves in 630 minutes. He owns a 2-1-3 career record, including 1-0-1 in 2019.

Top returning defenders for the spring season are senior Omar Dominguez Pascasio (Madras, OR/Madras HS) and sophomore Abdul Ali (West Linn, OR/West Linn HS). Dominguez Pascasio has been a key player for the Bearcats over the past few seasons, playing in 49 games overall and making 27 starts. As a junior, he played in 17 games with 15 starts.

Ali joined the team as a first-year player in 2019. He saw action in 17 games with five starts.

With the 2020-21 season delayed until now, and with many COVID-19 protocols in place, it's an unusual season for the Bearcats and for many other college soccer teams. Even, so it's a return to competition in the sport they enjoy.

"As far as the season goes, we are really focusing on ourselves and continuing to build our culture and identity," Rust said. "The results are always important, but we really want to push our roster to get more experience across the board, which in turn will help us sustain the level of play that we ask of our players when we have the opportunity to compete for championships this coming fall."