MONMOUTH MEN'S SOCCER PREVIEW
 
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Quinnipiac (6-8-1, 5-3-0 MAAC) at Monmouth (5-9-2, 2-5-1 MAAC)
All-Time Series: Monmouth leads, 13-4-4
Location: West Long Branch, NJ
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
ESPN3: http://es.pn/2zHCzle
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2lkWDYo
 
The Monmouth University men's soccer team enters a must-win situation when it hosts preseason MAAC favorite Quinnipiac on Saturday night. The Hawks will need two wins to close out the season for a shot at a conference tournament berth. Both of those games are at home, where the Hawks have built a 4-1-1 record in 2017. Last time out, Monmouth was edged in double overtime at Fairfield, 2-1, with Colin Stripling being the lone Hawks goal scorer. Stripling leads the team with four goals and is tied for the team lead in points with senior Jake Areman (9). The two will be honored before the game for Senior Day, along with defender Joey Gudzak, midfielder Andrew Gee, and goalkeeper Chris Seager.
 
BREAKING DOWN THE QUINNIPIAC BOBCATS
After starting conference play 2-3, the preseason favorites have won three straight games to improve its record to 5-3 in the MAAC. Quinnipiac defeated Manhattan, 1-0 Marist 3-2 in double overtime, and Siena 2-0. The Bobcats are led by junior midfielder Matthew Taylor, who has registered seven points on two goals and three assists. Junior forward Rashawn Daly, sophomore forward Eamon Whelan, and freshman defender Simon Hillinger have each added two goals on the season. Senior midfielder Max Rothenbuecher is tied for the team lead with three assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Chrysostomos Iakovidis has started all 15 games in net, making 33 saves with a 1.04 goals against average while also earning five shutouts.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. QUINNIPIAC
Monmouth owns a 13-4-4 all-time record against the Bobcats. Last season, Quinnipiac defeated the Hawks in Connecticut by a 3-1 margin. In 2015, the result was flipped, as Monmouth took the 3-1 win at home.

YOU GET THE POINT
Twelve different Monmouth players have registered a point this season, led by Colin Stripling (four goals, one assist), Jake Areman (three goals, three assists), and John Antunes (two goals, three assists). 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 16 games of the season, senior Jake Areman leads the team with nine points on three 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 32 games, accumulating four 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 15 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.

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