The Blue Knights are No. 20 in the NCAA Division II poll, the first time any Urbana program has cracked the national rankings. And with a win today, the team will log its school-record ninth in a row.
Urbana (8-1-1, 6-1 Mountain East Conference) hosts Concord (3-7, 2-5 MEC) at 4 p.m. at Urbana University Stadium. Urbana also won eight straight in 2002 and 2006, both to start the season.
“Hopefully we’ll get a good crowd,” Urbana coach Nick Roberts said. “There’s a good buzz going around the place.”
And the world. Senior midfielder Raoui Lassoued has drawn international soccer attention with his 35-yard, goal-scoring rocket that found the top corner against Wheeling Jesuit on Oct. 3. Urbana officials said the clip has received about 250,000 views on social media.
Lassoued is one of 14 international players on the 20-man roster. England (8),, France, Germany, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Wales are all represented. The other six players are from Ohio.
“It’s pretty typical for Division II,” said Roberts, who is from England. “We start three kids from the USA so we’re quite happy about that, that we’re not all international. We’ve got some very good players locally.
“There have been so many guys that have played very, very well. The group is very close. For whatever reason sometimes when you throw a hodgepodge together, they’ve all taken to each other. From top to bottom the guys have all contributed, which is very pleasing to me.”
Lassoued and Scotland’s Mike McFarlane are tied for the team lead in points (13) and goals (13). England’s Lewis Dunne leads in assists (12). Wales’ Nathan Jones is 7-0 in goal.
“Last year we were a fairly young group and if you look at last year it was a little bit deceptive,” Roberts said of Urbana’s 6-10-1 record. “Last year’s slate I think we played about 10 teams ranked in the top 25 of the country. Althought nobody else saw it, the signs were there with that group.”
Urbana’s lone loss was a 4-1 setback to Charleston on Sept. 8. Charleston, ranked No. 5 in the nation, is second in the MEC, three points behind Urbana. The teams play again at Charleston on Oct. 15.
“I think the big thing with this team is we really want to get into the NCAA tournament,” Roberts said. “With no other team ever in the history of the university under NCAA Division II ever making it, that’s something we really wanted to do.”
About the Author