AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas men's soccer team enter 2019 with high expectations and look to build on last year's success when they host Texas Lutheran in their season opener on Friday.

The Tornados will open the season against the Bulldogs at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in Round Rock, Texas at 7:30 p.m. In last season's matchup, CTX rallied and scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of the game for a 2-1 victory.

Head Coach Nick Mims enters year three with the program and is ready to get kick off the season.

"We are excited for the start of the season," Mims said. "We expect to work hard and compete."

The team will rely on new faces to take the reins after losing three All-American Southwest Conference First Team selections from last year's team, including ASC Offensive Player of the Year Omar Aguirre.

Joel Abrego, Daniel Valadez and Jason Saco-Vertiz, who all earned All-ASC accolades in 2018, named to the ASC Preseason Player's to Watch list.

Abrego is coming off his best year, starting in all 17 games for the Tornados, where he tallied three goals and recorded a team-best and single-season school record eight assists.

Valadez, meanwhile, started in 16 of the team's 17 games last season, playing on the backline and assisting the Tornados to five shutouts on the season and registering a goal and an assist.

Finally, Saco-Vertiz will look to control the midfield for CTX after starting in 16 games last year and finished with a goal and an assist.

The Tornados will play four of their first six games on the road, including a two-game trip to California, where they will face Occidental on Sept. 6 and California Lutheran on Sept. 8 before returning home for a non-conference matchup against Schreiner on Sept. 13.

Concordia Texas will open conference play on Sept. 26, playing host to East Texas Baptist followed by a matchup against LeTourneau on Sept. 28.

In 2018, the Tornados won their most conference wins in a single season in program history and will enter ASC play where they were picked to finish third in the league in the preseason poll, which was voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.

Concordia Texas will end the regular season with their biggest test of the year when they host defending conference tournament champions Mary Hardin-Baylor at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 1.

The Tornados will look to reach their fifth-straight conference tournament after reaching the semifinals for only the third time in program history last season.