WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The 12th-ranked Monmouth University men's soccer team, appearing in the NSCAA National Top-25 Poll for the 20th straight week dating back to last season, prepares for its most pivotal Northeast Conference weekend of the season. The Hawks host Saint Francis University (Pa.) on Friday in a first-place showdown and Robert Morris on Sunday for Senior Day.
The Hawks, who are now 10-1-2 after defeating Bryant, 3-0 in Northeast Conference play on Sunday, are also ranked 13th in this week's College Soccer News Top-30 and sit on top of both the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com North Atlantic Region and the Acquista Trattoria/BigAppleSoccer.com College Poll, where they have been all season.
Below are notes about the Hawks, as well as their opponent this weekend:
Monmouth (10-1-2, 4-0-2 NEC * Ranked 12th by NSCAA/HendrickCars.com, 13th by College Soccer News & 22nd by Soccer America Ranked 1st in NSCAA North Atlantic region)
- MU comes in at #26 in this week's NCAA RPI report. MU has compiled a perfect 4-1 record against the RPI Top-100, defeating West Virginia (#17), Binghamton (#61), Seton Hall (#83) and American (#88).
- The Blue and White boast the nation's fourth-best defense, allowing 0.44 goals per game, after posting another shutout last week.
- Since Robert McCourt's arrival in 2004, Monmouth has kept 70 clean sheets, including a Northeast Conference-high eight shutouts this season. The Hawks also rank sixth in the nation in shutout percentage, keeping 62% of its opponents off the scoreboard.
- MU's offense is also among the best in the country, ranking 22nd while averaging a pair of goals per contest.
- Hermann Trophy candidates Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn. /Naugatuck) and Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, N.J. /Scotch Plains-Fanwood) have led the Blue and White all season.
- Kinne currently ranks 10th in the nation in goals per game (0.77), 11th in total goals (10), 12th in points per game (1.77) and 17th in total points (23).
- Meredith now ranks sixth n the country in goals against average, surrendering 0.441 tallies per match, while placing 11th in save percentage, stopping 86.4% of the opposition's shots. The senior now has 33 career shutouts and a 40-6-8 record in his time as MU's starting keeper.
Saint Francis (PA) (9-4-1, 5-1-1 NEC * Ranked 4th in NSCAA North Atlantic region)
The Red Flash won a pair of pivotal NEC matches with goals scored in the final 10 minutes of regulation last week. On Friday, Saint Francis (PA) stopped Long Island, 3-2, then edged St. Francis (NY), 2-1, on Sunday...The Red Flash are tied for first place with Sacred Heart with 16 points...The Red Flash saw a 2-0 lead disappear in the first nine minutes of the season half against LIU, but regrouped as senior forward Patrick Fleming (Dunedin, New Zealand/Bayfield) scored the game-winner with 9:15 remaining in the game when junior midfielder David Butler's (Baltimore, MD/Loyola Blakefield) cross was punched out to the senior forward, who found the back of the net for his team-best eighth goal of the season...Earlier in the game, Butler scored a highlight reel goal, as he tipped the ball over the head of the LIU keeper from 12 yards away as he came out to challenge the shot...On Sunday, junior midfielder/forward Kingsley McLeod (Rocky Mount, NC/Rocky Mount) tallied his first game-winner of the season with exactly one minute remaining in regulation on a rebound off a Butler shot...Butler, who had two assists against the Terriers, set up senior defender Benjamin Kujawa (Jarrettsville, MD/North Harford) with the game-tying goal in the 38th minute...McLeod also scored the first goal of the game against LIU on a 17-yard shot...Saint Francis has reached nine wins for just the fourth time in program history. The Red Flash had a program-record 10 wins in 2004 and 2006, and also recorded nine wins in 2007...Michael Casper has been an assistant or head coach on all four Red Flash teams to reach nine wins. He was an assistant for former head coach B.J. Craig in 2004 and 2006, and was in his first year as head coach when the team won nine games in 2007. Casper has been on the sidelines for 60 of the program's 153 all-time victories, and 33 of its 67 NEC wins...The Red Flash have had seven different players record the game-winning goal in the team's nine victories...Senior midfielder/defender Sean O'Reilly (Front Royal, VA/Seton) and sophomore forward Wayne Tiller (Magnolia, DE/Caesar Rodney) are the only players to record more than one game-winner this season...Fleming leads the NEC with eight assists, and also ranks second with 24 points and third with eight goals...Fleming moved into a tie for fifth on the Saint Francis single-season scoring list, and is tied for second on the program's single-season assists chart. Fleming is also fourth on the Red Flash's career assists list with 14...With his two goals over the weekend, McLeod has established career-highs with five goals, two assists and 12 points. In fact, he entered the 2010 season with 10 career points...McLeod has nine points (four goals, one assists) in seven NEC matches this year...In last week's NCAA stats, Fleming ranked seventh in the nation in both assists and points per game.
Robert Morris (8-5-2, 4-1-2 NEC * Ranked 7th in NSCAA North Atlantic region)
Robert Morris earned six points in a conference weekend for the second time this season, shutting out St. Francis (NY) and Long Island with a pair of 1-0 victories...The Colonials have been shutout just once this season after failing to score in 10 games in 2009. The last time Robert Morris was kept off the board was on September 8 against Wright State...Sophomore keeper Toba Bolaji (Vaughn, Ontario/Maple) moved into third among RMU keepers with his 10th career shutout Sunday against LIU. The sophomore has collected five this season, matching the total from his rookie campaign...Bolaji stopped five shots against St. Francis and four more versus the Blackbirds, including a pair from point-blank range in the last 20 minutes...Bolaji ranks in the top-three in the NEC in all four statistical categories. He is second in shutouts (five), save percentage (.839) and saves per game (5.20), as well as third in goals against average (0.96)... Freshman midfielder Daniel Calabretta (Brampton, Ontario /St. Marguerite d'Youville) became the third RMU player to earn adidas/Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week accolades after he scored both of his team's goals over the weekend, running his season total to four, second most on the squad. Three of his goals this year have been game-winners...On Friday, Calabretta converted a rebound after a Francis Bowman (Fawn Grove, PA/Kennard-Dale) shot. He did much the same on Sunday, collecting Justin Turnley's (Beaver, PA/Beaver) rebound and bouncing the ball off the crossbar and in from a near impossible angle...Freshman forwards Miro Cabrilo (Hamilton, Ontario/Glendale Secondary) (twice) and Prince Samuels (Saint Catherine, Jamaica/Kingston College) (once) have also been recognized with NEC Rookie of the Week awards...Robert Morris has not allowed a goal in 251:57...Since losing its home opener, RMU has rolled off six consecutive home victories, including a perfect 4-0 home conference record with only Saint Francis (PA) left on its North Athletic Complex schedule ...Senior midfielder Neil Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA/Beaver) ranks fifth in the NEC in points (14) and sixth in goals (six)...The Colonials also travel to Mount St. Mary's (Friday) this weekend.
