BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--The Bakersfield men's soccer team is gearing up for the 2013 opener at Denver with an exhibition match against The Master's College Thursday night.

The Roadrunners are hosting the Mustangs in an exhibition match for the fifth consecutive season. Bakersfield heads to Denver this weekend for the opener Sunday night. The CSUB-DU match will begin at 7:30 p.m. (MDT).

Bakersfield was selected as the favorite to win the 2013 Western Athletic Conference men's soccer title as determined by a vote of the league's eight head coaches. The 2013 WAC preseason all-conference men's soccer team and preseason Players of the Year were also announced as voted on by the league's head coaches.

This is the first year of men's soccer in the WAC since the 1999 season.  The league is made up of eight teams divided into two divisions and includes both full time members of the WAC and affiliates.  The East Division is comprised of Air Force (affiliate), Grand Canyon, Houston Baptist (affiliate) and Kansas City.  The West Division consists of Bakersfield, UNLV (affiliate), San Jose State (affiliate) and Seattle U.
 
Bakersfield was selected first in the poll as the team received five first place votes and 47 total points. The Roadrunners return five of their 11 starters from a team that went 9-5-5 in 2012 and finished in first place in the Pacific Division of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).

Bakersfield led all WAC teams with three preseason all-conference selections (Eduardo Caldazo, Lucas Dall'Orso, and Scott Luedtke). Air Force and Seattle U each had two honorees, while Houston Baptist, Kansas City, UNLV and San Jose State each had one representative.

Bakersfield opens the season with five consecutive road matches beginning Sept. 1 at Denver. Week two sees the 'Runners at UC Davis (Sept. 6) and Sacramento State (Sept. 8). The road swing concludes at No. 1 Indiana (Sept. 13) and No. 8 Louisville (Sept. 15).

~www.GoRunners.com~