MONMOUTH MEN'S SOCCER PREVIEW – Quinnipiac

Saturday, October 18, 2014
Monmouth (6-2-3, 2-0-2 MAAC) at Quinnipiac (6-4-2, 3-0-1 MAAC)
Location: QU Soccer Field – Hamden, Conn.
Kickoff: 3 p.m.
Live Video: www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com
Live Stats: www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com


The Monmouth University men's soccer team travels to longtime conference foe Quinnipiac Saturday afternoon for a rematch of the 2013 MAAC Championship Game. The two teams shared the MAAC Regular Season Championship last season before playing to a scoreless draw in the tournament championship game. Quinnipiac advanced to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of a 4-3 edge in penalty kicks. The Hawks stand at 6-2-3 (2-0-2 MAAC) following a scoreless tie against Fairfield this past Saturday, and are unbeaten in their last four games. Quinnipiac's unbeaten streak has reached six following a pair of recent wins over Rider and Marist. Monmouth holds a 12-3-3 edge in the all-time series.

BREAKING DOWN THE QUINNIPIAC BOBCATS
Machel Baker leads the Bobcats with six goals and an assist for a team-best 13 points. James Doig has added two goals and a team-high four assists, while Raphael Carvalho has three goals and an assist. James Greco and Max Rothenbuecher have contributed a goal and two assists apiece, while Ryan Scheiderman has a goal and an assist. Tobias Esche has dished out two assists, while Shaquille Huggins and Tanor Jobe have scored once each. John-John Diaz rounds out the Quinnipiac point scorers with an assist. 2013 All-MAAC First Team honoree Borja Angoitia has posted a 0.98 goals against average and a .780 save percentage in net for Quinnipiac.      

KLENOFSKY, HAWKS' DEFENSE CLICKING
Sophomore goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky and the Hawks' defense have posted shutouts in 13 of 16 MAAC contests since the beginning of league play last season, including all four conference games this season. The Hawks' 0.42 goals against average ranks third in the nation so far this season. Klenofsky's identical 0.42 goals against average currently ranks fifth among NCAA Division I goalkeepers, while his .878 save percentage ranks fourth nationally.  

MCCARTHY'S MAGIC
Brandon McCarthy struck for his first collegiate goal in the first start of his career in the 13th minute against Manhattan on Oct. 8. McCarthy took a pass from Miguel Alves 20 yards from the goal, turned, took one touch and launched a rocket underneath the crossbar for what proved to be the game-winning goal.

YAYA SHOOTS HAWKS PAST CANISIUS
Emmanuel Senyah Agyemang scored the game-winning goal in the Hawks' 1-0 win over Canisius to open MAAC play this season. The senior back/midfielder had gone down with an injury just moments earlier, was waived back on by the referee, streaked down the right sideline and worked a give-and-go into the box with Dom Sarle to score the game-winner from a difficult angle near the right post. The goal was the third of Agyemang's career, with all three coming dramatically. His first goal came in the 2012 NEC Tournament to tie the semifinals in the second half against Fairleigh Dickinson. Agyemang then scored in the 90th minute to salvage a tie against Seton Hall last season.

GETTING EVEN WITH THE WILDCATS
Jelani Williams scored the equalizer in the 75th minute as the Hawks tied Villanova, 1-1, on the road Sept. 20. The tie came a year after Monmouth defeated Villanova, 2-1, in overtime on The Great Lawn.  

ROLLING AT RUTGERS
Monmouth defeated Rutgers, 3-0, on Sept. 16. Dom Sarle, Dave Nigro and Bryant Avalos each had a goal and an assist as the Hawks defeated the Scarlet Knights for the first time in program history. Rutgers won the first 11 meetings, with the last meeting prior to this season coming in 2004, Coach McCourt's first year with the team.

GETTING AHEAD
The Hawks scored both of their two goals in a 2-0 victory over Holy Cross on headers, Sept. 13. John Egan sent a perfect cross to the far post for Dom Sarle's goal in the 61st minute, before David Acuna Camacho's corner found Bryant Avalos' head in the 81st minute.

SNIPING A DRAMATIC WIN
Monmouth trailed 1-0 for the majority more than 65 minutes on Sept. 7 at Albany before John Egan delivered the equalizer in the 89th minute. Following a scoreless first overtime, Jelani Williams sniped the game-winning goal in the 106th minute off a Bryant Avalos cross.

OPENING STATEMENT
Monmouth opened the 2014 season with a 5-0 shutout of UMass Lowell. Dom Sarle and Dave Nigro had two goals and an assist each, while Bryant Avalos also added a goal. John Egan and Derek Luke also picked up assists. For his effort, Sarle was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week.

RUBBING ELBOWS WITH THE NATION'S BEST
A fixture in the national polls over the last several years, the Hawks received votes in both the College Soccer News Top 30 Poll and the NSCAA/Continental Tire National Rankings earlier this season. Monmouth reached a program-high of the No. 4 ranking in 2010.

THE GOLD STANDARD
Monmouth Head Coach Robert McCourt's teams have won eight conference regular season titles in his 10 years directing the program and his peers have once again chosen his team to win the league in 2014.

PRESEASON HONORS
Matt Jeffery and Emmanuel Senyah Agyemang were each honored this preseason with multiple honors. Jeffery took the top prize as a College Soccer News Preseason All-America Third Team selection. Both Jeffery and Agyemang were picked as Preseason All-MAAC. Jeffery and Agyemang combined with the nation's leader in goals-against average, goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky to create one of the toughest defenses in the MAAC to score on last season. From the beginning of conference play, the Hawks allowed just three goals for a 0.23 goals-against average with nine shutouts, all tops in the league. Overall, the Hawks ranked 23rd in the nation in team goals-against average (0.74) and 27th in shutout percentage (0.45).  

PLENTY BACK FOR THE HAWKS
In addition to Jeffery, Agyemang and Klenofsky, the Hawks return starters Dave Nigro, Colin Stripling, David Acuna Camacho, Derek Luke, John Egan and Bryant Avalos. Nigro is the top returning scorer for Monmouth with three goals and one assist, while Stripling and Camacho contributed one goal and two assists apiece. Luke also dished out two assists, while Egan had one.