ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Ouachita Tiger men's soccer team will begin their season with a trip to the Lone Star State to take on Dallas Baptist at 7 p.m.

The defending Great American Conference champions will face-off against a familiar opponent on Thursday night. The two clubs have played four times since the start of the 2014 season, with Ouachita holding a decisive 4-0 advantage in the series.

Last season the two squads met on the pitch in Texarkana, Texas at a neutral site location. Although the Tigers were outshot 19-17, senior forward Tinashe Chigede's header found the back of the net in the 14^th minute of action giving Ouachita 1-0 victory.

Last season the Tigers finished the season 9-7-1 with a GAC record of 4-2-0. Ouachita earned the two seed in the GAC Tournament behind top seed Harding. Tiger senior Tinashe Chigede (Tulsa, Okla.) became just the second player in GAC Championship history to record a hat trick in a game. The offensive outburst by one of the league's top players propelled the Tigers to a 4-3 come-from-behind semifinal victory over Oklahoma Baptist. In the championship game, Ouachita defeated Harding 3-1 to earn their second GAC title in three years.

This year's Tiger squad will look to the experience of the eight-member senior class to lead them back to the GAC Championship. This year's senior class enters with an overall record of 26-25-2 and boasts two GAC Championships. This year's team will also have the added pressure of being selected as the conference favorite. It is the first time a Tiger team has been picked as the outright favorite in the GAC. Ouachita edged out in-state rival Harding by two points in the preseason poll.

All-GAC mid-fielders Blaine Hickman (Royse City, Texas), Noa Cuellar (Frisco, Texas) and All-GAC defenders Jakob Cuellar (Frisco, Texas) and Hector Duron (Frisco, Texas) will help the team transition into the new season. Hickman returns as the leading scorer for Ouachita having scored four goals off of 18 shot attempts.  

Senior, Matt Gutierrez (Houston, Texas) is the only goalie on the roster that has recorded game experience for the Tigers. Gutierrez, started two games in goal last season and registered 21 saves in 289 minutes of action. The Lone Star State native also recorded a clean sheet and a .875 save percentage on the year.   

Ouachita stayed consistent throughout last season outscoring opponents by a final margin of 31-25. The Tigers finished last season being out-shot 310-188 but the Ouachita goalies out performed their counterparts by recording 38 more saves than their opponents.  

Dallas Baptist is coming off a 7-10-1 season in which they finished last in the Southern Division of the Heartland Conference. All-Heartland performer Ethan Martinez is the top returner for the Patriots soccer club. Martinez scored six goals during his freshman campaign to lead the Patriots offensively. Dallas Baptist will have three goalies fighting for the starting position after last season's starter Tyler Hofmann left the program.

Live Stats and video will be provided courtesy of www.dbupatriots.com don't forget to follow the official Ouachita Athletic social media accounts for score updates throughout the night, a recap of the match can be found at www.obutigers.com at the conclusion of the event.