Men's Soccer

2026 HCAC Men's Soccer Notebook, Week 1

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) men’s soccer teams competed in week 1 of the 2026 season.

Around the League:
HCAC Men's Soccer Schedule | HCAC Men's Soccer Standings

Athletes of the Week: 
Offensive Player of the Week:
Takpor Tobore (Laplace, La.) Berea College | Forward | Senior - Tobore Takpor scored three goals and registered assists this week across Berea’s three contests. He scored the game-winner against Spalding on Sunday.

Defensive Player of the Week:
Carson Sabers (Hamilton, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Goalkeeper | Sophomore - Carson Sabers led Mount St. Joseph to a 2-0-1 record where the Lions outscored their opponents 5-0. Sabers saved all 10 shots on-frame that the Lions allowed this week.

Notable Performances:
Offense:
  • Aiden Elmore (Richmond, Ind.) Anderson University | Forward | Freshman - Aiden Elmore contributed a goal and an assist for three points in Sunday's win against Blackburn. Anderson went 1-2 on the week.
  • John De La O (Oakland, Calif.) Earlham College | Midfield | Freshman - John De La O led the Earlham offense to a 2-1 opening week with two goals. The freshman scored the first goal of the season to kick off a 2-1 win over IU East and netted the second goal of a 3-1 win over Heidelberg. De La O took 12 shots on the week with six on frame.
  • Tripp O'Brien (Shepherdsville, Ky.) Franklin College | Forward | Freshman - Tripp O'Brien notched an assist in his collegiate debut against Wabash then cashed in on his lone shot attempt thus far, scoring Franklin’s goal in a 1-1 draw at Heidelberg.
  • Andrew Pavlisko (Maineville, Ohio) Hanover College | Forward | Junior - Andrew Pavlisko helped guide Hanover to a 1-1-1 week, including a draw at No. 21 ranked Denison. The junior had one goal and an assist for a combined three points. He had five shots, one of which landed on frame.
  • Quentin Taylor (Milford, Ind.) Manchester University | Forward | Sophomore - Quentin Taylor scored two goals this week for Manchester along with three shots and two points.
  • JT Roden (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) Mount St. Joseph University | Forward | Senior - JT Roden led Mount St. Joseph to a 2-0-1 week. He scored a goal and added and assist, including the game-winner in the team’s 1-0 road win at Asbury on Friday.
  • Ryan Shapiro (Broomfield, Colo.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Forward | Junior - Ryan Shapiro helped lead Rose-Hulman to an undefeated record to start the season of 2-0-1. He finished the week with three goals, scoring twice in the win over Greenville and once in the win over Spalding. He concluded the week by adding an assist against Centre to finish the week with seven points.
  • Cole Varela (Elizabethtown, Ky.) Transylvania University | Forward | Senior - Cole Varela had one goal on three shots-on-goal in a season opening win at Asbury. Then in a loss to Capital, Varela once again scored a goal on three attempts with all three landing on-frame.
Defense:
  • Marcus Bishop (Knoxville, Tenn.) Berea College | Goalkeeper | Senior - Marcus Bishop produced a clean sheet against Spalding on Sunday. He holds a goals-against average of 1.67 through three games.
  • Patrick Schoellig (Stormville, N.Y.) Hanover College | Goalkeeper | Junior - Patrick Schoellig led Hanover, posting a 1-1-1 overall record, including a clean sheet against No. 21 ranked Denison. The junior had eight saves, allowing just three goals.
  • Will Martin (Goshen, Ind.) Manchester University | Goalkeeper | Junior - Will Martin started three games in goal for Manchester this week, tallying 13 saves.
  • Wil Bell (Indialantic, Fla.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Defense | Graduate Student - Wil Bell helped lead Rose-Hulman to a 2-0-1 record to start the season. The Fightin' Engineers defense recorded two shutout victories against Greenville and Spalding, where they allowed just two shots on goal against Greenville and zero shots on goal against Spalding. Bell would also score a goal on a corner kick header against Greenville.
  • Ethan Drew (Clarksville, Tenn..) Transylvania University | Goalkeeper | Junior - Ethan Drew recorded two saves against Asbury in the Transylvania victory, allowing no goals on the evening. He recorded a save in the loss at Capital for three saves on the week.
2026 Athlete of the Week Reports:
Week 1 (Week ending Sept. 6)