The Muskingum University men's soccer team returns in full force for their 2016 season under the guidance of Head Coach Chris Limle.

Muskingum returns 18 lettermen to the pitch and 11 starters from last year's squad. Leading the Muskies will be seniors William Debolt and Zach Shumauch, junior Trent Newby and sophomores Alex Furst, Barrett Fitzgerald, and Chase Hilliard.

Debolt, who played in every game last season, will look to protect the house on the defensive end.

The attack will look to be led by Shumauch who made 11 starts for the Muskies last season and was second on the team with eight points (two goals/four assists).

Newby, an All-Ohio Athletic Conference Honorable Mention honoree in 2014, returns to the pitch after sustaining an early season-ending injury last year. The junior recorded two goals in just three contest for the Muskies.

Furst started in 12 games making 17 appearances on the pitch last season. The sophomore recorded his first career goal in a 3-0 decision against St. Vincent.

Fitzgerald diligently covered the field for the Muskies starting in every game and scoring one goal.

Hilliard had a breakout campaign leading the team with 10 points (four goals/two assists) throughout the course of his rookie season. The sophomore led the team in shots (37) and shots on goal (15).

Muskingum will also have the luxury of a strong contingent of experienced players returning that includes seniors Antonio Meehan, Kyle Baker, Chris Heine, Logan Lazar, Nick Koch, juniors Gage Toy, Chris Aboagye, and sophomores Jacob Jereb, Amier Salah, Neal Edwards, Daniel Jennings, Collin Federer, and Gabe Kral.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jereb, Baker, and Heine will look to lead the way. Jereb saw action in 17 games with seven starts, while Baker saw action in 16 games with 15 starts and Heine played in 11 games with two starts.

Toy, Aboagye, Salah, and Meehan will look to anchor the forward position this season. Toy saw action in 18 contests with 17 starts and tallied two goals and one assist. Aboagye played in eight games making two starts, while Meehan and Salah both tallied one goal for the Muskies.

At the midfield position, Lazar, Koch, and Edwards will look to provide the depth needed in 2016. Lazar played in 14 games and scored one goal, while Koch competed in 13 contest making one start. Edward saw action in 12 games with eight starts.

Federer, Kral, and Jennings will look to split time between the pipes in 2016. Kral led the Muskies last season logging 916 minutes and two shutouts, while Federer played a 161 minutes in net and Jennings 514 minutes.

Adding to the depth and talent of the Muskie squad will be a blue-chip recruiting class.

Muskingum opens the season at Carnegie Mellon on Thursday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m. Muskingum's first home game is against Adrian on Sunday, September 4 at 3:00 p.m. Select home games this year will feature FREE HD video on fightingmuskies.com. Live Stats will be available for all home games on fightingmuskies.com.