MONMOUTH MEN'S SOCCER PREVIEW

Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Monmouth (0-3-2) vs. Columbia (2-1-0)
All-Time Series: MU leads, 4-0-0 (Last meeting: MU, 1-0 – Sept. 9, 2012)
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 Wednesday night, when it plays host to Columbia on ESPN3. The Hawks look to get back into the win column after falling to UMBC on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Lions have impressed early in the season with wins over Michigan and Central Connecticut.  

BREAKING DOWN THE COLUMBIA LIONS
Junior forward Arthur Bosua has led the Lions with a goal and an assist, while Vana Markarian and Andrew Tinari have each added a goal. Amit Shumowitz, Nike Azuma and Dylan Mott have also added one assist apiece. Junior goalkeeper Zachary Adler has played all 270 minutes in net for the Lions, posting a 0.67 goals-against average and an .889 save percentage. Prior to the season, Top Drawer Soccer named Bosua (#4), Tinari (#8) and Alex Bangerl (#18) among the Top 20 players in the Ivy League.  

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. COLUMBIA
MU leads the all-time series, 4-0-0. All four meetings have come in the Robert McCourt era and all four have been Monmouth shutouts. Three of the clean sheets have been 1-0 final scores, including a win on Sept. 9, 2012, on The Great Lawn. The other final margin was 3-0 Hawks in West Long Branch in 2008.  

SCHAEFER SHOWING UP
Freshman Geoffrey Schaefer has responded well to increased playing time of late, developing several offensive chances and assisting on David Nigro's goal at UMBC on Sept. 10 for his first collegiate point.

DEPENDABLE DEFENDERS
Sophomore holding center midfielder Anderson Asiedu and freshman back Andy Martinez have yet to leave the field thus far in 2016. Both players have accounted for 490 minutes played in five games.

FLIPPING IT IN
Sophomore forward Jalil Blalock, whose signature goal celebration is a back flip, scored his first goal of the season on Sept. 1 at Hartford. Blalock received a feed from Dave Nigro in the middle of the 18-yard box and went inside the right post for the score, his third-career goal. 

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 37^th minute against Denver as the Hawks and Pioneers played to a 1-1 draw. He then added his second goal at UMBC, equalizing  at 2-2 in the 54^th minute.

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 11^th straight season. The Hawks also received votes in the poll's second 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 10^th 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)

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.