MONMOUTH MEN'S SOCCER PREVIEW
 
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Monmouth (4-5-1, 1-1-0 MAAC) at Manhattan (6-4-0, 3-0-0 MAAC)
All-Time Series: Monmouth leads, 8-1-2
Location: Riverdale, NY
Kickoff: 6 p.m.
Live Video: https://flyhawks.co/2yKIVje
Live Stats: https://flyhawks.co/2yMhS7j
 
The Monmouth University men's soccer team travels to MAAC-leading Manhattan on Saturday. The Jaspers are tied with Rider (also 3-0) atop the conference after defeating Iona, Marist, and Saint Peter's by a combined score of 8-0. Monmouth is coming off a 3-2 win over Iona to even its conference record at 1-1. Sophomore Geoff Schaefer tallied a goal and an assist in the win, while John Antunes and Zachary Pereira also scored. Freshman Dan Frisch-Harmon gathered his third assist of the season on Antunes' goal, while sophomore Andy Martinez assisted on Schaefer's goal. The Hawks have registered a 24-8-10 record in conference play since joining the MAAC in 2013, including a championship in 2014. McCourt's squad has registered a 3-0-1 record at home this season, and 0-4-1 on the road.
 
BREAKING DOWN THE MANHATTAN JASPERS
After being selected 9^th in the MAAC Preseason Poll, Manhattan has raced out to a 6-4 (3-0 MAAC) record in 2017. The Jaspers sport a 4-1 home record on the season, defeating Navy, Sacred Heart, VMI, and Marist. Junior midfielder Lucas Da Silva leads the team with five goals on the season, while freshman forward Brandon Joseph-Buadi ties him for the team lead in points with 11 (four goals, three assists). Junior back Callum Carsley and sophomore forward Noah Amissah have both added three goals on the season, and are two of 11 Jaspers to tally at least one point this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Marcellin Gohier has registered a 5-1 record on the season, making 26 saves and giving up just three goals.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MANHATTAN
Monmouth holds an 8-1-2 all-time record against the Jaspers, including a 2-1 win in West Long Branch last season (Colin Stripling scored both Monmouth goals in the conference opener). Manhattan's lone win came in 1996 by a 1-0 margin.
YOU GET THE POINT
Ten different Monmouth players have registered a point this season, led by Colin Stripling (three goals) John Antunes (two goals, two assists), and Jake Areman (two goals, two assists) with six each. 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.
SPREADING THE LOVE
Seven different Monmouth athletes have scored goals in 2017, including Colin Stripling, Jake Areman, Andy Martinez, Geoffrey Schaefer, Zachary Pereira, Anes Mrkulic, and John Antunes.
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 seven games of the season, senior Jake Areman is tied for the team lead with six points on two goals and two 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 27 games, accumulating three goals and six assists in that span.
HERE'S JOHNNY
After missing all of last season due to injury, redshirt freshman John Antunes has started every game 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.
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 10 games this season, making 37 saves and earning four wins. Earlier this year, he made eight saves against UMBC 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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