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EDINBURG, Texas – After Hurricane Harvey forced the cancellation of the HBU Invitational last weekend and delayed the start of the 2017 season for the men's soccer team, the Huskies will kick things off on Friday and Sunday at the UT Rio Grande Valley Invitational hosted by UTRGV at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
On Friday, Sep. 1, HBU will take on 21
st-ranked Omaha at 4:00 p.m. The Mavericks' Elvir Ibisevic, a sophomore, picked up United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week honors for the first week of the season after leading Omaha past No. 17 Virginia Tech by a score of 5-1. Ibisevic picked up a hat trick in the first 10 minutes of the match and also added an assist. Omaha also defeated Grand Canyon 2-0 in its season opener. The Mavericks own a 2-0 record.
The Huskies will then face St. Bonaventure on Sunday, Sep. 3, at 4:00 p.m. The Bonnies boast a 2-0 record after beating Bucknell 1-0 in overtime and then erasing a two-goal deficit and leaving with a 3-2 double-overtime win over Robert Morris. Senior Paul Afful earned Atlantic 10 Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring the game-winner against Bucknell then adding a goal and an assist against Robert Morris.
HBU returns sophomore
Malik Key, their leading scorer from last season with five goals as a freshman. Junior midfielder
Darrell Johnson posted six assists and a pair of goals as a sophomore, second on the team with 10 points.
Bryan Brody, a junior, has started every game of his collegiate career and will help anchor the HBU back line.
These two matches will mark the first-ever meetings between the Huskies and their two opponents.
After their two matches in Edinburg, the Huskies will travel to Georgia for a pair of matches with Georgia Southern and Gardner Webb at the Coastal Empire Challenge hosted by Georgia Southern with a match in Savannah, Ga. and one in Statesboro, Ga.