SASKATOON – A myriad of members, both past and present, from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's soccer team will take to the pitch this summer for a series of exhibition contests in Saskatoon.
 
"These Huskie players that are currently with our program, or young players stepping into the program, get to play a number of top-quality matches over the course of the summer which really assists their development and exposes them to the professional game," said Huskies head coach Bryce Chapman.
 
The connections begin right at the top. Former Huskies head coach Percy Hoff will serve as co-head coach and current goalkeeper coach Kent Kowalski is in that same role for the Selects.
 
In total, 23 athletes on the 28 strong SK Select roster have ties back to the Huskie men's soccer program, showing the deep relationship between the Huskie program and the state of elite soccer in the province
 
"If you look at that roster, it really shows what Huskie men's soccer has created over a number of years," said Chapman. "There are some great young men that have played for the university over the years and now they are moving on and representing the Selects. It's been a proud moment, some of these players I have coached since they were 16 and to see them be rewarded with this opportunity is great."
 
All four goalkeepers on the roster have been a part of the Huskies program, Marcus Baxter is a current Huskie with JD Blakely filling the role of goalkeeper's coach for the university team. Together Michal Bandula and John Neufeld recorded 71 starts in their Huskie career.

On the back-line: Jacob Powell, Tobias Hyrich-Krueger, Ekior-Dourde Mieyefa and Zach Edwards are all current Huskie athletes. They will suit up alongside Huskie assistant coach Jordan Farahani and alumnus Austin Boryski.
 
In the middle of the field, eight of the ten midfielders have spent time in the program. Nikolas Baikas, Mohamed Omar, Marcello Gonzalez and Gabriel Buatois are all current Huskies, with KB Bekwayo and Ash Fountaine slated to join them in the fall. Former captain Eoin McFadden and Bobbi Nicholat are both graduates of the Huskies.
 
Rounding out the roster are the strikers, five of which have Huskie ties. Shedrek Samuel is a current Huskie, with Fraser McLeod also set to join the squad in the fall, while Garrett Peters, Luigi Bekwayo and Nathan Reis are all alumni of the Huskies.
 
The first game of the Summer Soccer Series gets underway this Saturday, May 4 with the Selects taking on Calgary Foothills FC on SMF Field.

"This will be key for an injection of energy for the game of soccer at the community level and hopefully it evolves and builds into our university season as well," said Chapman. "The more people that we can get excited about the game of soccer, the more people that we can hopefully build into Huskie fans as well."