English Trio Propel Lions Into Postseason

LMU senior forward Ryan Kingsford on the LMU men’s soccer team was waiting for an opportunity to enter a Lions’ soccer match this season and getting a little frustrated with the rules. 

He turned to the scoring table and said with a smile, “I would have been in this game eight minutes ago if it was in England.”

A native of Herne Bay, United Kingdom, Kingsford is one of three English newcomers to LMU this season along with junior forward Tyger Small (London) and sophomore Lewis Clutton (Newport, UK). The trio have made a significant impact on the LMU, helping the Lions earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, hosting UC Irvine tonight at 7 p.m. in a first-round matchup. 

While there were a few learning curves playing soccer in America, for the most part, the transition has been seamless for the three, and they’ve thoroughly enjoyed this season with the Lions. 

“I've played on a few teams in college, and Tyger and I both come from junior college, so we know the most successful teams are the ones that are the most together,” Kingsford said. “On and off the pitch, you can see how close we are as a team, and that just works.”

Smalls picked up WCC All-Conference Second Team recognition while Kingsford garnered All-WCC honorable mention honors.

The trio ended the regular season as LMU’s three leading scorers. Kingsford led the way with 11 points (4 goals, 3 assists), with Smalls next with eight points on four goals and Clutton following closely with six points on three goals. 

One of the Lions’ biggest wins of the season came during non-conference play when LMU knocked off then-No. 15 Virginia, 3-1. Kingsford scored twice, while Clutton netted the eventual gamewinner.

“Games like that are what we all want,” Smalls said. “We’re seeing that the win helped us in a way that we know now that we can beat teams of that caliber. We believe we can beat pretty much anyone in the country. That win gave us that belief.”

While the Lions get to enjoy the luxury of playing the NCAA Tournament first round at home, if they want to make a deep run in the national tournament, they’ll have to collect multiple wins on the road. Luckily for LMU, winning on the road has not been an issue in 2023. 

Ending the regular season with a record of 4-1-5 in road games, the Lions know how to win outside of Los Angeles, including the win at Virginia. Other notable road victories this season include a 2-0 shutout at Oregon State and a 1-0 win at UCLA, both NCAA Tournament teams. In fact, if LMU beats UC Irvine, the Bruins await the Lions in the second round. 

Smalls said he actually prefers to play on the road, and Kingsford agreed with his teammate. Then again, if your home is in Europe, playing anywhere in the United States may not feel that much different most of the time.

"At previous schools, I’ve struggled with away games,” Kingsford said. “But I think the way that {LMU head coach} Kyle {Schmid}, put it, it's like memories you build together on the road. When we're on away trips we've had to go through tornadoes and storms. There's been other memories that we all create together, and those memories go a long way once you finish college. That’s the uniqueness of building those memories when you're on away trips. It is something that brings us closer together off the pitch so we can play well on the pitch.”

The WCC was one of the top conferences in the nation in 2023, boasting three teams in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. The WCC has also been a multi-bid league in the NCAA Tournament now in six of the last seven seasons. 

Smalls and Kingsford both agree that the WCC has had a banner year, and they feel proud to be one of the league’s top teams that survived the league schedule to gain the at-large bid. 

“I think it’s one of the best conferences, especially this year,” Smalls said. “Obviously, I didn't know much about the WCC, being from England, when I first arrived, and I can’t really speak to the different conferences. I think I was surprised, especially playing teams like Portland. That gave us some confidence. Everyone wants to win.”

Smalls added that LMU may not have been his first choice if he didn’t believe it was a program built to win, get into the NCAA Tournament and have a good run in the tournament. 

Coming to LMU as a transfer from Akron, Kingsford has already had a taste of the postseason, and knows what it can do for a program. 

“It would mean a lot to the program and for me,” Kingsford said. “I've been in the tournament twice, and I've gone out in the first and second round, but I think it will mean a lot to our guys and the people that have supported them throughout their whole careers. For the program, it will benefit, not just us, but the team next year. It will also benefit the kids in five to 10 years from now if we have a deep run because then we can recruit and build for the future.”

LMU’s hopes to build strength for the future begins tonight when the Lions square off against the Anteaters at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.