For more than a decade, winning has become less of a goal and more of an expectation for William Carey men’s soccer. Thursday night, the Crusaders get another chance to begin the chase.
William Carey opens the 2026 season against Texas Wesleyan at 7:30 p.m. at Danny Owens Field in Hattiesburg, beginning a season in which the standard remains the same: contend for the Southern States Athletic Conference championship and give itself another shot at a deep run through the NAIA National Tournament.
While this fall brings change to the overall soccer landscape at William Carey following longtime women’s coach Danny Owens’ move across town to take over Southern Miss, there is plenty of continuity on the men’s side.
Barry Farrell enters his 11th season as head coach of the Crusaders, and few programs at any level have been as consistently successful during that stretch.
Farrell carries a 154-29-20 career record into 2026. William Carey has won eight overall conference championships during his first 10 seasons and has reached the NAIA National Tournament every year he has been in charge. That includes four trips to at least the national quarterfinals and semifinal appearances in 2018 and 2024.
In other words, simply reaching November isn’t the goal anymore. The Crusaders expect to still be playing when November gets serious. Carey came close to another championship season last fall.
The Crusaders finished 14-4-3 and reached the SSAC Tournament championship game before falling 3-1 to Life University. They still earned an at-large berth into the NAIA National Tournament and were selected as the No. 10 seed, allowing them to host John Brown University at Danny Owens Field.
That’s where Carey’s season ended in about the most painful way possible. William Carey and John Brown played to a 2-2 draw through regulation and overtime before the Golden Eagles advanced 4-2 on penalty kicks. Carey actually controlled much of the match statistically, outshooting John Brown 22-12 and putting nine shots on goal, but couldn’t find the winner.
The result left the Crusaders at 14-4-3 and ended their season in the second round of the national tournament. For most programs, 14 wins, a conference championship appearance and another trip to nationals would represent an outstanding year. At William Carey, it left unfinished business.
Farrell won’t be starting from scratch. The 2026 roster has an experienced core, particularly through the middle and back of the formation.
Senior Teddy Miranda returns as a defender/defensive midfielder, while senior Niall Lovelock is back at center back. Joshua Salas and Daniel Mulero give Carey additional senior experience in midfield, and the Crusaders have added senior midfielder Miguel Cardona, who previously played at NCAA Division I Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Mulero is an especially important piece to watch. He scored seven goals last season, including Carey’s lone goal in the SSAC championship match against Life, then opened the scoring against John Brown in the NAIA Tournament with a free kick just over two minutes into the match.
Carey also has experience returning, while a collection of transfers gives Farrell another roster with an international look. And that has become part of the formula at Carey. This year’s roster stretches from Mississippi and Louisiana to Ecuador, Spain, England, Colombia, Senegal, Argentina and French Guiana.
Perhaps the most interesting question early in the season will be where the goals come from. Carey has added several players who could help answer it.
Fernando Pirry arrives from Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is listed as a striker. Diego Arranz enters his junior season after transferring from Greenville University, while Santiago Molina joins the program from Mohawk Community College.
There is also some local flavor on the roster. Sophomore defender Caleb Hartley is a Gulfport native who played at West Harrison, Roman Tims comes from Southaven, and Ashton Cerda is a Mandeville, LA, product who previously played at Delgado Community College.
With so many pieces coming from different backgrounds, August may be about finding the right combinations.
The Crusaders will have plenty of time to figure things out without leaving Hattiesburg. Thursday’s opener against Texas Wesleyan begins a remarkable stretch of seven consecutive home games. Louisiana Christian comes to Danny Owens Field Saturday night before Florida National visits Aug. 26 and Williams Baptist comes to town Aug. 29.
September begins with home matches against LSU Alexandria, Brewton-Parker and Thomas University. Carey doesn’t play its first road game until Sept. 17, when the Crusaders travel to Mobile. That makes the opening month particularly important.
That makes the opening month particularly important.
Instead of immediately throwing a roster with several new pieces onto buses and into difficult road environments, Farrell gets seven games in Hattiesburg to determine what his 2026 team looks like.
Then things get considerably tougher. Once conference play heats up, Carey will spend plenty of time away from home. The Crusaders travel to Mobile and Faulkner in September, followed by road trips to Life University and Dalton State, two programs that were nationally relevant last season.
Life is an especially notable date. The Running Eagles handed Carey its loss in the 2025 SSAC championship match, while the Crusaders beat Life 2-1 during the regular season. Carey will visit Life on Sept. 25 before traveling to Dalton State two days later.
That two-game swing through Georgia could tell plenty about where the Crusaders stand nationally. The regular season eventually comes back to Hattiesburg, where Carey closes with home matches against United States Sports University on Oct. 20 and Xavier University of Louisiana on Oct. 24 before turning its attention toward the SSAC Tournament.
There aren’t many NAIA soccer programs where reaching the national tournament 10 consecutive seasons can almost be taken for granted.
William Carey has become one of them.
Since Farrell took over in 2016, the Crusaders have gone 154-29-20. They’ve played in national quarterfinals, national semifinals and conference championship matches. They’ve turned a small university in Hattiesburg into a program capable of recruiting players from Mississippi and around the world.
The one thing missing from Farrell’s résumé is the national championship. That’s what makes each new season interesting. Carey isn’t trying to become relevant. It already is.
The question is whether this is the team that finally survives those last few games in November and gets a chance to play for the trophy.
That journey begins Thursday night.
Texas Wesleyan at William Carey
Thursday, Aug. 20 | 7:30 p.m.
Danny Owens Field | Hattiesburg, Mississippi
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