MONMOUTH MEN'S SOCCER PREVIEW

Saturday, October 17, 2015
Monmouth (9-3-2, 5-0-1 MAAC) vs. Fairfield (4-4-4, 3-2-0 MAAC)
Location: Lessing Field – Fairfield, CT
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m.
Live Video: MAAC.TV
Live Stats: MonmouthHawks.com

The Monmouth University men's soccer team continues MAAC play Saturday night when it travels to Fairfield for a rematch of the 2014 MAAC Tournament Championship Game. The Hawks are unbeaten in their last 11 games (9-0-2), including a 5-0-1 mark in MAAC play. Last time out, Monmouth bested hOURglass rival Saint Peter's, 3-1, Wednesday night on Hesse Field. Meanwhile, the Stags picked up a 2-0 home win over Siena on Wednesday and have won three of their last four.
 
BREAKING DOWN THE FAIRFIELD STAGS
Fairfield is led by Loyola (MD) transfer Dominic Marshall, who's scored a team-best six goals. Ben Wignall has added three goals and three assists, while Justin Lewis and Steven Valente each have a goal and three assists. Kevin Byrne has scored twice, while Diego Casielles has chipped in with a goal and an assist. Jonathan Uy has distributed two assists, while Jordan Emsley has a goal and Ben Whitcomb has an assist to round out the Stags' point scorers. Matt Turner has played every minute in net for Fairfield, posting a 1.08 goals-against average and a .778 save percentage. He's registered four shutouts.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. FAIRFIELD
Monmouth owns a 4-0-3 lead in the all-time series with Fairfield, including a 2-1 double-overtime win over the Stags in last season's MAAC Championship Game. The two teams had tied both prior games in the series since the Hawks joined the MAAC in 2013. The series opened in 1996 with a scoreless draw, while Monmouth took wins in 1997, 2008 and 2009.    

AROUND THE MAAC
In other MAAC action, Iona (9 points) visits Siena (9 points), Manhattan (6 points) travels to Rider (10 points), Niagara (1 point) welcomes Saint Peter's (9 points) and Quinnipiac (5 points) plays host to Canisius (0 points). All the action will be wrapped up by the time the Hawks and Stags kick off, as all four games are being played at either 1 or 2 p.m.

SOLID COMPANY
Monmouth's 11-game unbeaten streak stands as the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. No. 1 Creighton has the longest active streak at 13 games, while No. 2 North Carolina and No. 8 Denver are next with 12 straight.  (Rankings from College Soccer News)

Longest Active Unbeaten Streaks in NCAA Division I

	TEAM	STREAK
1.	#1 Creighton	13
2.	#2 North Carolina	12
	#8 Denver	12
4.	(RV) Monmouth	11
5.	#3 Stanford	10
6.	#4 Clemson	8
	#9 Old Dominion	8
	Detroit	8

RUBBING ELBOWS WITH THE NATION'S BEST
A fixture in the national polls over the last several years, the Hawks opened the season at No. 21 in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Poll and receiving votes in the College Soccer News Preseason Top 30 Poll. Following a 10-game unbeaten streak, the Hawks are again receiving votes in the College Soccer News Poll this week. Monmouth reached a program-high of the No. 4 ranking in 2010.

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS
As a team, Monmouth leads the MAAC in points (5.71) per game, total goals (26) and points (80), save percentage (.817), scoring offense (1.86 goals per game), shutouts (6), shutout percentage (0.43), goals-against average (0.76) and winning percentage (.714). Individually, Eric Klenofsky paces the MAAC's goalkeepers with a 0.76 goals-against average, .817 save percentage, six shutouts and 0.43 shutouts per game. Miguel Alves, Dave Nigro and John Egan are tied for second in the league with two game-winning goals apiece, while John Egan and Colin Stripling have dished out five assists each, good for second in the MAAC. Nationally, the Hawks rank fifth in total assists, ninth in total points, 15th in assists per game, 21st in save percentage, 23rd in goals-against average.

KLENOFSKY CLIMBING MAAC ALL-TIME WINS LEADERBOARD
With the Hawks' 3-1 win over Saint Peter's on Oct. 14, junior goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky moved into a tie for second all-time in the MAAC with 27 career victories in net. Klenofsky is tied with Niagara's John Fiutowski (2006-09) and only Iona's Nils Binstock (2006-09) remains ahead of the Hawks' junior goalkeeper with 38 career wins.   

EVERYBODY SCORES
Monmouth's 26 goals this season have been scored by 12 different players. The Hawks lead the nation with nine players with at least two goals scored. Colin Stripling and Dave Nigro lead the way with four goals each, while John Egan has tallied three goals. Anderson Asiedu, David Acuña Camacho, Jalil Blalock, Miguel Alves, Andrew Gee and Danny Figarella have each scored twice.  Zachary Pereira, Derek Luke and Dan Pizzimenti have each tallied one goal.  

SET PIECES STUN SAINT PETER'S
David Acuña Camacho put Monmouth on the board with a goal off a free kick in the ninth minute and added an assist on John Egan's goal off another set piece in the 26th minute as the Hawks defeated hOURglass rival Saint Peter's, 3-1, Oct. 14 on Hesse Field. Anderson Asiedu rounded out the scoring with a goal in the 48th minute.

SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN
Monmouth took an early lead on Dave Nigro's goal in the 11th minute, while also adding goals from David Acuña Camacho and Derek Luke in the 54th and 65th minutes, respectively, en route to a 3-1 victory over longtime conference rival Quinnipiac on Oct. 10.

hOURglass RUNS OUT AFTER 110 MINUTES
Monmouth and Rider played to a 1-1 tie on Oct. 7 in Lawrenceville. Danny Figarella broke a scoreless tie in the 53rd minute and the Broncs responded with the equalizer from Jose Aguinaga just over nine minutes later. The tie extended Monmouth's unbeaten streak to nine games.

KLENOFSKY HONORED FOR SHUTOUT PERFORMANCES
Eric Klenofsky was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Men's Team of the Week and earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Week after shutting out Iona (Sept. 30) and Siena (Oct. 3). The junior goalkeeper equaled his career high of seven saves in shutting out the Gaels, while also making a pair of saves against Siena for his sixth clean sheet of the year and 27th career shutout.

STAYING HOT AGAINST SIENA
Dave Nigro scored in the 27th minute and Danny Figarella added his first career goal in the 78th minute as the Hawks defeated Siena, 2-0, on a rain-soaked Hesse Field on Oct. 3. Eric Klenofsky made a pair of saves in the victory, while Derek Luke assisted on both goals. Anderson Asiedu also picked up an assist on Figarella's goal.

GEE, THAT'S A SOLID WAY TO WIN
Andrew Gee scored off assists from John Egan and Colin Stripling in the 35th minute and Eric Klenofsky tied his career high with seven saves as the Hawks blanked Iona, 1-0, on Sept. 30. Stripling played Egan into the top, right corner of the box, before Egan sent the ball low to the left post, where Gee deflected it into the net. Klenofsky (seven saves) and the Hawks' defense made the goal stand up for their fifth clean sheet of the year and the 26th of Klenofsky's career.

STRIP'S STAKE TO NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND LEAGUE HONORS
Colin Stripling was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week, while also earning Corvias ECAC Division I Offensive Player of the Week and MAAC Player of the Week recognition on the week of Sept. 28 after scoring three goals and adding an assist in the Hawks' 2-0 week with wins over Seton Hall and Canisius. Stripling scored twice and added an assist in a 4-1 win over the Pirates, before giving the Hawks an insurance goal in a 2-0 win to begin league play against the Griffs in Buffalo.     

COMMENCING CONFERENCE CORRECTLY
Monmouth opened league play with a 2-0 win on the road at Canisius. Dave Nigro scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 32nd minute off a Zachary Pereira assist, before Colin Stripling added insurance just 3:33 later, scoring off the rebound of Danny Figarella's shot. Eric Klenofsky made three saves to secure his 25th career shutout and his fourth clean sheet of the season. Monmouth is now 2-0-1 in league openers as a member of the MAAC.

STORMING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY
The Hawks put a rough three-game stretch to begin the season well into the rearview mirror with a 4-0-1 finish to non-conference play. The Hawks got in the win column with a 5-0 win over Howard before playing perhaps their most complete 90 minutes of the season in a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Villanova. Following a scoreless draw against Rutgers, Monmouth earned a 1-0 win at Holy Cross and a 4-1 triumph over Seton Hall.

HALL OF A WIN
The Hawks' offense scored three goals or more for the third time in non-conference play in a 4-1 win over intrastate foe Seton Hall on Sept. 22. Colin Stripling scored twice and added an assist, while Miguel Alves and Dan Pizzimenti contributed highlight-reel quality goals. John Egan, Zachary Pereira, Anderson Asiedu, Derek Luke and David Acuna Camacho also dished out assists in the win, while Eric Klenofsky made six saves in net to secure the victory.

ONE-UPPING THE CRUSADERS
Monmouth defeated Holy Cross on the road, 1-0, on Sept. 19. John Egan finished off an Anderson Asiedu cross on one touch in front of the net in the 51st minute for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Eric Klenofsky made six saves in his third shutout in four games to earn MAAC Defensive Player of the Week.

RUNNING WITH RUTGERS
A year after defeating Rutgers, 3-0, on the road, Monmouth and the Scarlet Knights played to a 0-0 tie on Sept. 16 at Hesse Field. Eric Klenofsky made four saves in his second shutout of the season.

WILD(CAT) WIN
The Hawks defeated Villanova, 3-1, on Sept. 12. Anderson Asiedu scored his first-career goal off a Colin Stripling assist, before Miguel Alves scored the game-winning goal off a free kick to break a 1-1 tie in the 47th minute. John Egan's thru ball led to Andrew Gee's first goal of the year to put the game on ice in the 79th minute. Eric Klenofsky made a career-high seven saves en route to MAAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Villanova entered the game ranked No. 25 in the Top Drawer Soccer National Rankings and receiving votes in the NSCAA National Poll.

OFFENSIVE ERUPTION
Monmouth's offense erupted for five goals in a 5-0 shutout of Howard on Sept. 6. Jalil Blalock scored twice en route to MAAC and ECAC Rookie of the Week honors, while Dave Nigro and John Egan both contributed with a goal and two assists. Zachary Pereira also scored his first-career goal, while Spencer Moeller, Derek Luke and Miguel Alves also tallied assists.

THE GOLD STANDARD
Monmouth Head Coach Robert McCourt's teams have won eight conference regular season titles in his 11 years directing the program and his peers have once again chosen his team to win the league in 2015. Included in the feat are five conference tournament championships in the last nine years and the accompanying NCAA Tournament berths.

PRESEASON HONORS
Eric Klenofsky was named the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year after leading the nation in goals-against average in each of the last two seasons. Derek Luke and Dave Nigro joined Klenofsky on the Preseason All-MAAC Team.

PLENTY BACK FOR THE HAWKS
What Monmouth lost in quality from the 2014 squad in All-MAAC performers Matt Jeffery, Dom Sarle and Emmanuel Senyah Agyemang, the Hawks make up for with eight starters returning. Klenofsky, David Acuna Camacho and Derek Luke lead a defense that led the nation in goals-against average (0.48) and save percentage (.883). Meanwhile Dave Nigro leads the offense having scored the game-winning goal in double overtime of the MAAC Championship to cap off a five-goal, three-assist campaign. Brandon McCarthy also returns after scoring three goals and adding an assist, while Luke came up from the back line to tally a team-best six assists. Andrew Gee came on late in the season to score twice and add an assist, while Miguel Alves scored a goal and handed out three assists. John Egan played a pivotal role in the midfield and added a goal and an assist.  

ACCLAIMED INCOMING CLASS
College Soccer News ranked the Hawks' incoming class No. 22 in the country. Anderson Asiedu leads the group as a 2014 Top Drawer Soccer Fall High School All-America First Team and 2015 Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI honoree, while Danny Figarella was named to the All-America Second Team. Asiedu, Figarella and Daniel Aversano were selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Fall All-East Region Team, while Chase Covello and Zachary Pereira joined Asiedu, Aversano and Figarella on their respective Top Drawer Soccer Fall All-State Teams. Also joining the Hawks this season are sophomore Memphis transfer Spencer Moeller and freshmen Jalil Blalock and Jassiem Wahtuse.