By: Luke Kotcher, Assistant Athletics Communication Director
ROLLA, Mo. – Afxentis Andreou (Paphos, Cyprus/Lykeo Agios Charalambous) is ready for his last regular season weekend after four years as a Miner.
Andreou, a Cyprus native, is the only Student-Athlete at Missouri S&T from the country. In the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Andreou is one of four men's soccer players from Cyprus. Demetris Giannakopoulos (Junior, UIndy), Alexandros Nathanael (Freshman, UIndy), Giorgios Eleftherio (Freshman, William Jewell) and Andreou represent Cyprus in the GLVC.
| "I'm proud to be here," Andreou said. "It's an honor to represent my country at S&T. I didn't know about S&T before coach [Robert] Cummings reached out to me." |
The distance between Rolla, Missouri, and Cyprus is just under 6,300 miles, or just over a 13-hour plane ride. Andreou has a unique story on how he was recruited to Missouri S&T.
| "It was kind of last minute," Andreou said. "It was in May [2021] and I was looking to purse both academics and sports. Coach Cummings got in touch with me and said, 'this is a great school with a great engineering degree program.' Even though I had other offers, I chose S&T because it combines a good degree with good sports." |
The 2024 Missouri S&T Miners currently sit with a 7-5-4 overall record with two more regular season matches to play until the GLVC Tournament. The team was picked to finish 11
th in the conference but the Miners have a chance to make the tournament this weekend. After a 4-9-4 record last season, Andreou wanted his last season to be a winning season.
| "As seniors, we refuse to leave this school without leaving an impact," Andreou exclaimed. "No matter the outcome of the season, we have showed the conference that we can fight and win. We've built something that will be here for a long time." |
| "I tell them all the time, the only reason why postseason is important to me is so I get more time coaching with them," coach Cummings said. "It really is about relationships and spending time with them." |
The Miners have two regular season home matches left and for the group of seven seniors, it means saying goodbye to the S&T soccer field as players.
| "We are super excited about it," Andreou said. "It is a little sad as the end of the ride. All we have known for four years is practice and games. Hopefully we will be in the GLVC Tournament and to do something that has not been done since 2010 – get to the NCAA Tournament." |
| "It's been hard to believe that him and the other seniors journeys end [at S&T]," head coach Robert Cummings said. "They came in during the COVID-19 pandemic. The only silver lining with COVID-19 is that I got to hang out with them more." |
Looking at Andreou's stats in 2024, he has played the most minutes of his four-year career with 1,197 and all 16 matches started. As a defender, Andreou has picked up 15 shots, six shots on goal and the season opening goal earlier this season.
| "For him, it's always been consistency," coach Cummings said. "What he did was take ownership in areas he was struggling with last year. Now he is not struggling in those areas. Overall, he has been very consistent and vocal in a leadership role." |
| "It has been a little different," Andreou said. "There is so much tough competition this year. We just go out there and give everything. 90 minutes on Friday then 90 minutes on Sunday, it can be tough. Our great athletic trainers like Sam Kaestner push us through it and we fight for the next week." |
As mentioned previously, Andreou picked up the Miners season opening goal on Sept. 5 against Northeastern State to give S&T a 1-0 victory. The shot was unbelievable off the foot of Andreou at the 20-yard line that found its way in the back of the net.
| "That's the best goal I've ever scored in my career," Andreou said. "I shot it with the pure intention of scoring. It was a clean hit, and I was super excited that it went in." |
After Andreou graduates later this school year, his plan is to stay put and find an engineering job somewhere in the United States.
| "I am hoping to get a job in the United States," Andreou said. "I'm looking to stay and work after I leave S&T." |
The Miners play in their final two regular season home games this weekend when they welcome Southwest Baptist on Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Senior day is scheduled for Nov. 3 against Rockhurst at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for the weekend can be found
here.
Follow Miners Men's Soccer on X and Instagram at miners_msoc
