MONMOUTH MEN'S SOCCER PREVIEW
Thursday, September 1, 2016
(RV) Monmouth (0-1-1) at Hartford (0-2-0)
All-Time Series: Hartford leads, 2-1-0 (Last meeting: Hartford, 3-1 – Sept. 4, 2015)
Location: Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium – West Hartford, CT
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video: AmericaEast.TV
Live Stats: HartfordHawks.com
Sunday, September 4, 2016
(RV) Monmouth (0-1-1) vs. (RV) Colgate (2-0-0)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Location: Hesse Field on The Great Lawn – West Long Branch, NJ
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: MonmouthHawks.com
The Monmouth University men's soccer team returns to action Thursday night, when it travels to the University of Hartford. Monmouth looks to bounce back from a setback to UMass Lowell on Sunday, following a 1-1 draw against nationally-ranked Denver to open the season this past Friday. Hartford opened the season with a pair of losses to Holy Cross (2-1, Aug. 26) and Maryland (5-0, Aug. 29), while Colgate won a pair of games against Loyola Marymount (1-0, Aug. 26) and UMass (2-0, Aug. 28) in hosting the Central New York Classic.
BREAKING DOWN THE HARTFORD HAWKS
Hartford's lone goal this year was an unassisted tally by Bastian Stech to stake the Hawks to a 1-0 lead against Holy Cross. But the Crusaders scored in the 57th and 84th minutes to come away with a 2-1 victory. Preseason nationally-ranked No. 4 Maryland then scored early and often in a 5-0 victory this past Monday. David MacKinnon has started both games and seen the majority of minutes in net, posting a 3.36 goals-against average and a .571 save percentage. Jeff Tryon is the Hawks' top returning scorer at four goals and 10 points. Hartford has been tasked with replacing its top scorer (Javoni Simms – 6 goals) and table setter (Mikkel Song – 7 assists) from a year ago.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. HARTFORD
Thursday's match will be the fourth in the all-time series with Hartford. The Hawks from the north lead the all-time series, 2-1, including a 3-1 win in West Long Branch last Sept. 4. The prior two contests took place in 1985 and 1986.
BREAKING DOWN THE COLGATE RED RAIDERS
Colgate's Ethan Kutler has a team-leading two goals this season after pacing the Red Raiders with 24 points a year ago. Freshman Kentaro Morrison has also scored a goal, while junior Jared Stroud has registered an assist a year after tying Kutler for the team lead with six helpers. Senior goalkeeper Ricky Brown has made four saves in compiling a pair of shutouts this season. Brown posted a 0.97 GAA and .800 save percentage in 2015.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. COLGATE
Monmouth and Colgate have never met on the pitch. Sunday's meeting will be the first in the all-time series.
CONTINUING TREND
Colin Stripling led the Hawks with six goals a year ago and began this season in the same way. The senior midfielder deposited the ball in the back of the net on a penalty kick in the 37th minute against Denver as the Hawks and Pioneers played to a 1-1 draw.
RUBBING ELBOWS WITH THE NATION'S BEST
A fixture in the national polls over the last several years, the Hawks were ranked No. 30 in the College Soccer News Preseason Top 30 to earn a national ranking for the 11th straight season. The Hawks are receiving votes in the poll this week. Monmouth reached a program-high of the No. 4 ranking in 2010.
PRESEASON RESPECT
Winners of two of the last three MAAC Regular Season Championships, Monmouth was selected by the league's coaches to win the title once again in 2016. In addition, five Hawks comprised the 11-member Preseason All-MAAC Team. Goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky was named the Preseason Player of the Year, while Anderson Asiedu, David Nigro, Zachary Pereira and Colin Stripling were also named among the top players in the league.
RETURN OF THE MAC
Sophomore Anderson Asiedu was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, becoming the first sophomore and the 10th Hawk in Head Coach Robert McCourt's tenure to garner the honor. Asiedu joined Joseph Schmid (2013), Ryan Clark (2012), RJ Allen (2011), Max Hamilton (2011), Anthony Vazquez (2011), Ryan Kinne (2009, 2010), Bryan Meredith (2010), Chase Barbieri (2009) and Tom Gray (2007) among Monmouth players to earn the recognition.
THE GOLD STANDARD
Monmouth Head Coach Robert McCourt's teams have won nine conference regular season titles in his 12 years directing the program. Included in the Hawks' run of success are five conference tournament championships in the last 10 years and the accompanying NCAA Tournament berths.
SOLID COMPANY
Monmouth's 17-game unbeaten streak last season stood as the second-longest streak in the nation. Denver and Georgetown tied for the longest streak in the nation at 18 games, while Creighton and Stanford had their streaks snapped at 15 contests.
Longest Unbeaten Streaks in NCAA Division I (2015)
1. Denver 18
Georgetown 18
2. Monmouth 17
3. Creighton 15
Stanford 15
4. Clemson 13
LIU Brooklyn 13
5. Wake Forest 12
North Carolina 12
KLENOFSKY CLIMBING MAAC ALL-TIME WINS LEADERBOARD
With the Hawks' 2-1 win in double overtime at Manhattan on Oct. 21, 2015, junior goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky moved into sole possession of second place all-time in the MAAC with 28 career victories in net. Klenofsky, who now stands at 31 career wins, moved past 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.
RETURNING CAST
Monmouth returns the scorers of 30 of their 41 goals from a year ago, led by leading scorer Colin Stripling (6). Stripling also had five assists to lead the team with 17 points. David Nigro and Miguel Alves also scored five goals apiece, while Zachary Pereira came on strong to score four goals from the back line. Danny Figarella and Andrew Gee chipped in with three goals each, while Anderson Asiedu and Jalil Blalock scored twice each. Along with Pereira, center back Joey Gudzak helped stabilize the Hawks' back line and 2015 MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year Eric Klenofsky is back for his fourth season as the last line of defense.
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
Monmouth's newcomers include some exciting prospects, including Maryland transfer Jake Areman and 2015 Gatorade New Jersey Boys Soccer Player of the Year John Antunes. The back line lost Derek Luke, but brings a familiar look in Luke's brother, Michael, who will fill Derek's role. Fellow freshman Andy Martinez also looks to fill a pivotal role as a center back. Jacob Curtis, Colin Muller, Geoffrey Schaefer and Ryan Wells will also vie for minutes in their first year in the Blue & White.
