Conway, Ark. — Men's soccer is on the road in Des Moines at Mediacom Stadium to take on Drake at 7 p.m. Thursday to start its 2026 season.

This season will be the second under the helm of head coach Kyle Segebart, who led the Bears to a 4-10-2 record in his inaugural season as head coach. In 2025, Central Arkansas was undefeated at Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex, which helped the Bears clinch a spot in the ASUN Championship, where they lost 2-1 to Stetson in the quarterfinals.

Despite losing 18 players from last season, the Bears have several returners to look out for. One of those returners is Russian forward Maxim Sheenkov. After appearing in 10 games last season and starting seven, Sheenkov scored four goals and recorded two assists, earning him Second Team All-ASUN honors. Those efforts also led to his selection to the Preseason All-ASUN Team.

Another Bear who received postseason honors was Vaclav Kozeny, who was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team after recording two goals and an assist.

On the defensive side, seniors Joseph Mwamba and Kaisei Matsudo are the returners who bring back the most experience. Both started 10 games last season, with Mwamba appearing in 11 total games and Matsudo appearing in 14. Goalkeeper Merrick Cook started seven games last season, compiling a 3-2-1 record along with a .789 save percentage.

Despite not facing each other since 2018, Drake is a familiar opponent. Central Arkansas faced the Bulldogs every year from 2010 to 2018 while Central Arkansas was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. It will be an early test for Central Arkansas, as the Bulldogs did not lose a game at home during the regular season last year, going 5-0-4.

The match will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats avaible through the UCA Athletics website.