Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Monmouth (4-7-2, 1-3-1 MAAC) at Canisius (9-3-1, 3-1-1 MAAC)
All-Time Series: Tied, 2-2-0
Location: Buffalo, NY
Kickoff: 4 p.m.
Live Video: https://flyhawks.co/2xNZwqp
Live Stats: https://flyhawks.co/2zhH9X4
   
The Monmouth University men's soccer team makes the trek to Buffalo, NY to take on Canisius on Wednesday at 4:00 PM. The Hawks are coming off a 1-1 tie against MAAC foe Siena, as Donovan Pollock scored his first goal of the season (and the equalizer) in the 34^th minute on the assist from John Antunes. Monmouth's record now stands at 4-7-2 (1-3-1 MAAC), and faces a Canisius team that has had a successful season thus far (9-3-1, 3-1-1 MAAC). Senior Jake Areman and Antunes lead the team with seven points each, as both have registered two goals and three assists on the season. Following Wednesday's match, the Hawks will have five more regular season games, including home games against Saint Peter's, Quinnipiac, and Niagara.
 
BREAKING DOWN THE CANISIUS GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Canisius has won three of its last four conference matches, with victories over Fairfield in overtime, Niagara, and Saint Peter's. The Golden Griffins are ranked fourth in the nation in scoring offense with 2.62 goal per game, and ranks second in the nation in assists per game with 2.85. Sophomore forward Troy Brady leads the MAAC in goals (9) and points (20), and is ranked in the top 20 nationally in those respective categories. Redshirt junior defender Bjarki Benediktsson ranks sixth in the nation with eight assists on the year. Freshman forward Filippo Tamburini has added seven goals and an assist this season, while junior defender Alex Grattarola has scored six goals with two assists. Goalkeeper Marco Trivellato has started 11 of 14 games this season, making 42 saves while giving up 19 goals.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CANISIUS
The teams are locked at two wins apiece in the all-time series, which began in 2013. Canisius won last year's match in West Long Branch by a score of 2-1. Two years ago, the Hawks defeated the Golden Griffins in Buffalo, 2-0, including a goal from Colin Stripling.

YOU GET THE POINT
Twelve different Monmouth players have registered a point this season, led by John Antunes (two goals, three assists), Jake Areman (two goals, three assists), and Colin Stripling (three goals). Sophomore midfielder Geoffrey Schaefer increased his season total to five points after tallying a goal and an assist in the win over Iona on October 4. Sophomore back Andy Martinez has also totaled five points, as he shares the team lead for assists (3) with freshman Dan Frisch-Harmon, Areman, and Antunes.

SPREADING THE LOVE
Nine different Monmouth athletes have scored goals in 2017, including Colin Stripling, Jake Areman, Andy Martinez, Geoffrey Schaefer, Zachary Pereira, Anes Mrkulic, John Antunes, Luke Bromley, and Donovan Pollock.

SUPER STRIPLING
Redshirt senior Colin Stripling was the lone Monmouth student-athlete named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team, and he enjoys the honor for the second consecutive season. Battling through injury a season ago, Stripling scored four goals in 11 games while racking up 26 shots. He was named to the All-MAAC Second Team for those efforts, a year after being named to the All-MAAC First team after scoring six goals and dishing five assists in 2015. Before sustaining a season-ending injury in 2014, Stripling earned MAAC All-Rookie honors during his freshman year after starting 18 games. Stripling scored the game-winning diving header in the season-opening win over Georgia Southern on August 25, and was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on September 25 after scoring two goals in the 3-1 win over Hartford.

NON-CONFERENCE CHALLENGES
The Hawks played an arduous non-conference slate in 2017, recording a 3-4-1 record after eight games. Monmouth played #14 West Virginia to a 0-0 draw on September 4 and fell to #25 UMass Lowell in the 89^th minute, 3-2. On September 26, the Columbia Lions entered the United Soccer Coaches Poll at #23, two weeks after the Hawks narrowly fell to them, 2-1. Monmouth also played tough road contests at College of Charleston and Georgia Southern, and defeated Hartford and Penn at home. The Hawks were defeated in overtime by 2014 College Cup semifinalist UMBC in West Long Branch on September 9 by a score of 2-1.

AMAZING AREMAN
Through the first 13 games of the season, senior Jake Areman leads the team with seven points on two goals and three assists. Areman scored the go-ahead goal against UMBC on September 9, and also scored Monmouth's first goal at #25 UMass Lowell on September 16 on a perfectly placed free kick. Joining the Hawks ahead of the 2016 season, Areman has started all 30 games, accumulating three goals and seven assists in that span.

HERE'S JOHNNY
After missing all of last season due to injury, redshirt freshman John Antunes has started 12 games for the Hawks in the midfield this season. Antunes consistently controls the middle of the field, and scored his first career tally against Hartford on September 20. The Fairfield, NJ native took the pass from teammate Santo Arena, dribbled down the middle of the field, and launched a rocket to right upper 90 to put the Hawks up 1-0. Antunes scored his second goal in the win over Iona on October 4.

FRESHMAN CONNECTION
Trailing 2-1 with 25 minutes to play at #25 UMass Lowell on September 16, freshman Santo Arena collected a turnover and passed it ahead to freshman Anes Mrkulic. Mrkulic poked it under the goalkeeper for his first career goal and Arena's first career assist to tie the game at two.

SANTO'S START
After dishing his first career assist at #25 UMass Lowell on September 16, freshman Santo Arena earned his first career start against Hartford four days later. The midfielder made the most of it, assisting on the first goal of the game from John Antunes. Monmouth later won the match 3-1.

IRONMAN EDWARDS
Monmouth junior goalkeeper Bobby Edwards has started all 13 games this season, making 55 saves and earning four wins. He has made eight saves two times this season, and stopped six shots at Columbia three days later. Edwards earned his third shutout just four games into the season.

UNUSUAL UNDERDOGS
For the first time since 2005, a Rob McCourt-led Monmouth team was not selected as preseason conference favorites. Instead, the Hawks were tabbed third behind Quinnipiac and Rider after a 6-9-3 record in 2016. McCourt has led the Hawks to a 153-66-50 record since his inaugural 2004 season.
 
^{Preseason Conference Poll under Rob McCourt}

2017: 3rd	2010: 1st
2016: 1st	2009: 1st
2015: 1st	2008: 1st
2014: 1st	2007: 1st
2013: 1st	2006: 1st
2012: 1st	2005: 4th
2011: 1st	2004: 9th

 
THE GOLD STANDARD
Monmouth Head Coach Robert McCourt's teams have won nine conference regular season titles in his 13 years directing the program. Included in the Hawks' run of success are five conference tournament championships in the last 11 years and the accompanying NCAA Tournament berths.

RETURNING CAST
Monmouth will return 12 letterwinners from last season, led by Preseason All-MAAC selection Colin Stripling. Senior Jake Areman will also return to the fold after tallying six points (one goal, four assists) during his first year in Blue & White. Sophomore Geoff Schaefer, junior Jalil Blalock, and sophomore Michael Luke will all return after scoring two goals each last season. Junior Zachary Pereira also returns after earning All-MAAC Second Team honors in 2016, in addition to sophomore defender Andy Martinez who was named to the MAAC All-Rookie team. Senior Joey Gudzak is back on the Monmouth defense after being one of two players to start all 18 games last season, while classmate Andrew Gee takes the field with 53 career games and five goals under his belt. After sustaining a season-ending injury in the first game of the regular season in 2016, the 2015 NJ Gatorade High School Player of the Year John Antunes will look to make a lasting impact in the midfield.

NUMEROUS NEWCOMERS
The Hawks welcome 12 new players in West Long Branch this fall, including six freshmen and four transfers. Juniors Bobby Edwards, Luke Bromley, and Henrique Joaquim are joined by sophomore Doni Pollock as 2017 transfers. Edwards enjoyed a lot of success as a goalkeeper at St. Joseph's University, the England native Bromley comes from Florida Southern College, and the Brazil native Joaquim comes from Brevard College. Pollock, a striker, played one year at Old Dominion and contributed two goals in 15 games. Sophomore George Akampeke also joined the fold from Bolgatanga, Ghana, and will play primarily in the midfield. The freshman class includes forward Anes Mrkulic, goalkeeper Sean Murray, midfielder Santo Arena, midfielder Jake Treiber, forward Alex Hajj, and midfielder Dan Frisch-Harmon.
 
ERIC KLENOFSKY DRAFTED BY D.C. UNITED
Following the 2016 season, former goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky was selected 34th overall in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by D.C. United. Klenofsky became the eighth Monmouth student-athlete selected by an MLS team and the sixth in the last seven years, following Matt Jeffrey (No. 78, Colorado), Bryan Meredith (No. 29, Seattle), Ryan Kinne (No. 42, New England), RJ Allen (No. 43, Chivas USA) and Ryan Clark (No. 39, New York Red Bulls), and the seventh overall, also joining Hugh MacDonald and Tom Gray. Klenofsky garnered multiple accolades throughout his four years in West Long Branch, most recently being named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) First Team All-Northeast Region Team for the second consecutive season. His 36 career wins are the second-most in conference history, and he ends his Monmouth career with 32 shutouts. Klenofsky earned All-MAAC Second Team in 2013 and 2014, before elevating to the First Team and being named MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year in 2015. He was the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Division I Statistical Champion in goals-against average.
 
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