MONMOUTH MEN'S SOCCER PREVIEW
 
Friday, September 1, 2017
Pennsylvania (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Ivy) at Monmouth (1-1-0, 0-0-0 MAAC)
All-Time Series: First meeting
Location: Hesse Field on the Great Lawn – West Long Branch, NJ
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video: None
Live Stats: http://statb.us/b/184077
 
Monday, September 4, 2017
Monmouth (1-1-0, 0-0-0 MAAC) at #19 West Virginia (2-0-0, 0-0-0 MAC)
All-Time Series: Tied, 1-1; Last Meeting: 9/3/10, MU won 1-0 [2ot]
Location: Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium – Morgantown, WV
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.
Live Video: http://flyhawks.co/2elRqcv
Live Stats:  http://flyhawks.co/2glxLdq
 
 
The Monmouth University men's soccer team returns to action on Friday for the 2017 home opener. The Hawks will host Penn for the first-ever matchup between the teams at 7:00 PM. Under Head Coach Rob McCourt, Monmouth has an astounding 89-19-23 record at home. Following the home opener, the Hawks will head to #19 West Virginia on Monday. Monmouth currently stands at a 1-1-0 record with an opening-night win against Georgia Southern before falling to College of Charleston on a 49^th minute penalty kick.
 
BREAKING DOWN THE PENN QUAKERS
Penn finished last season with a 5-6-6 (3-3-1 IVY) record. The Quakers return nine starters and 12 letterwinners from the 2016 squad and welcome an 11-member freshman class. Additionally, Penn will look to three returning All-Ivy honorees to lead the way, as both Sam Wancowicz and Dami Omitaomu earned second-team accolades last year, while Joe Swenson was named honorable mention. Between the pipes, Penn returns last season's primary starter Etan Mabourakh in addition to fellow junior Scott Forbes. Mabourakh has played 1,963 minutes in goal for the Quakers, owning 18 starts with a career GAA of 1.65.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. PENN
Friday's match will be the first in the all-time series vs. UPenn. The Hawks own an 8-7-1 record against current Ivy League teams.

BREAKING DOWN THE WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
The Mountaineers earned the #19 spot in the latest United Soccer Coaches (previously NSCAA) Poll after jumping out to a 2-0 record on the road. West Virginia defeated California on August 25, 1-0, before taking down Santa Clara on August 27, 2-0. The team will take on Wright State on Friday before hosting Monmouth on Monday. Senior midfielder Jad Arslan leads the team with two goals in the first two games, while redshirt freshman forward Brendan Hogan leads the way with two assists. Junior midfielder Jorge Quintanilla scored a goal against Santa Clara after dishing an assist at California. Between the pipes, junior Stephen Banick has posted two straight clean sheets with eight total saves.  

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WEST VIRGINIA
Monmouth and West Virginia have split the all-time series with one win each. The Mountaineers took the series opener in 2002, but the #15 Hawks earned the thrilling double-overtime win in the 2010 meeting. The Hawks received the game-winning goal from freshman Jacob Rubinstein, the first of his career, in the 105th minute of action to defeat the host Mountaineers. Monmouth's Bryan Meredith preserved the scoreless standoff with a diving save in the 94th minute, and made six saves in the win, logging his 26th career shutout in the process.
 
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 150-61-49 (.671) 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.

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.

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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