Mount St. Mary's (3-5, 0-0 NEC) at Central Connecticut State (2-4, 0-0 NEC)
WHEN: Fri, Oct. 1, 2010, 8 p.m.
WHERE: Willowbrook Park, New Britain, Conn.

SERIES INFORMATION: Central Connecticut State leads 8-4-0
LAST MEETING: Mount (2-1 2OT) 11-1-09
FIRST MEETING: Central Connecticut State (2-0) 10-2-98
LAST CCSU WIN: (3-1) 11-7-08
IN NEW BRITAIN: Central Connecticut State leads 5-1-0

opening kick... Friday's Northeast Conference opener between Central Connecticut State and Mount St. Mary's marks the 13th meeting in the all-time series dating back 1998 season. Despite the Mount taking a 2-1 double overtime win last season in Emmitsburg, the Blue Devils lead the series 8-4-0. Central Connecticut State's last win in the matchup was a 3-1 in 2008. Prior to the Mount's win last year, the Blue Devils won the previous seven matchups.

about the blue devils... Central Connecticut State comes into the match 3-4-0 overall and 0-0-0 in Northeast Conference play after defeating Fordham 2-1 in double overtime on Saturday. Sophomore F Terrell Whitting leads the squad with three goals and two assists for eight points while senior M Robert Cavener is tied for the team lead with two goals and four assists for eight points. Senior M Shawn Buchanan ranks third with two goals for four points while sophomore M Jesse Menzies, freshman D Jose Pablo Gamba Palavincini and sophomore F Joel Diamond are tied for fourth with a goal and an assist for three points. Sophomore GK Anthony Occhialini has 22 saves, a 1.35 goals against average and a .733 save percentage.

last time we met... Steve Pathroff scored with 17 seconds left in the second overtime to propel Mount St. Mary's past Central Connecticut State 2-1 in double overtime on Nov. 1, 2009. Pathroff also dished out an assist in the match to go along with his decisive tally. Chris Wheeler scored his seventh goal of the year and Chris Davis made three saves in the winning effort. Connor Smith scored the Blue Devils goal and Chris Jones made three saves in the loss.

GAME 10: Mount St. Mary's (3-5-0, 0-0-0 NEC) at Quinnipiac (0-5-1, 0-0-0 NEC)
WHEN: Sun, Oct. 3, 2010, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Quinnipiac Soccer Field, Hamden, Conn.

SERIES INFORMATION: Mount leads 8-3-1
LAST MEETING: Mount (4-3) 10-30-09
FIRST MEETING: Mount (3-0) 10-4-98
LAST QUINNIPIAC WIN: (3-0) 11-8-08
IN HAMDEN: Mount leads 3-2-1

opening kick... Sunday's game between Quinnipiac and Mount St. Mary's marks the 13th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1998 season. The Mount leads the series 8-3-1, including a 4-3 overtime win last season in Emmitsburg. The Bobcats last win in the matchup was a 3-0 decision in 2008.

about the bobcats... Quinnipiac comes into the weekend 0-5-1 overall and 0-0-0 in Northeast Conference play after falling 3-2 at Stony Brook on Sunday. Junior D Matthew Rothbart leads the team with two goals for four points while senior D Pierre Soubrier leads the squad with two assists for two points. Sophomore F William Daniels has found the twine once for two points and senior M Fabricio Silva has one helper for one point. Sophomore GK Josh Lavallee has 12 saves, a 1.22 goals against average and a .750 save percentage.

last time we met... Chris Wheeler converted a penalty kick in the 93rd minute to lead Mount St. Mary's past Quinnipiac 4-3 on Oct. 31, 2009. Scott Phinith and his brother Gary Phinith each scored their first goal of the season in the first half while Kyle Patrick notched his first goal of 2009 in the second half. Chris Davis made three saves in the winning effort. Shane Recklet posted two goals for Quinnipiac and Durval Pereira dished out two assists. Pierre Soubrier registered the other Bobcats tally while Frederick Hall made seven saves in the loss.

last time out... Cal State Bakersfield scored three times in the final 25 minutes and 24 seconds to rally past Mount St. Mary's 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. Junior Chris Wheeler notched his eighth goal of the season for the Mount while Will Thomas posted his second tally of the year and Peter Steve (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) recorded four saves in the loss.

next on tap... After the two games in Connecticut, Mount St. Mary's returns to Waldron Family Stadium to host Sacred Heart (Oct. 8) and Fairleigh Dickinson (Oct. 10).

fastest to eight... Junior Chris Wheeler has scored eight goals in eight games. The junior is the fastest player in Mount Division I history to reach eight goals.

in the nation... Junior Chris Wheeler is tied for first in Division I with eight goals. The junior also ranks third in the country in goals per game (1.00), fourth in total points (16) and eighth in points per game (2.0). Senior Eric Detzel currently sits 10th in the nation in total assists (5) and 20th in assists per game (0.63). As a team, the Mountaineers are 25th in the country in total goals (15) and 38th in scoring offense (1.88)

in the league... Mount St. Mary's ranks second in the Northeast Conference in goals (15) and goals per game (1.88) while also ranking fourth in points (38) and fourth in assists (8). Junior Chris Wheeler leads the conference in shots (36), points (16), points per game (2.00), goals (8) and goals per game (1.00) and also ranks second in shots per game (4.50). Senior Eric Detzel leads the league in assists (5) and ranks second in assists per game (0.62) and ninth in points (7).

in the league: The Mount is 71-82-27 in Northeast Conference matches. The Mountaineers are 33-45-15 under head coach Rob Ryerson in the NEC and 6-2-2 in the conference opener, including back-to-back NEC opening wins in 2008 and 2009. The Mount is 10-8-1 in the last two seasons in the league.

preseason poll... The Mount St. Mary's men's soccer team has been picked fifth in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason Coaches Poll. Monmouth, who claimed the last four league regular season titles and the 2009 NEC Tournament crown, has been unanimously selected as the preseason favorite in 2010. Quinnipiac, Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis (N.Y.) were picked 2-3-4 while the Mount, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis (Pa.), Long Island, Central Connecticut State, Robert Morris and Bryant rounded out the 11-team poll.

komlan honored... Koudzo Komlan was named the adidas/Northeast Conference Co-Rookie of the Week for the week of Sept. 6-12. It is the sophomore first conference honor. The sophomore defender helped the Mount to its second-straight win and first-ever decision over George Washington on Sept.11. Komlan took a long ball and beat the goalkeeper and then popped the ball over the netminder's head at 60:57 mark to break a 3-all standstill and propel Mount St. Mary's to a 4-3 win against the Colonials. It was the sophomore's first collegiate goal.

aye, aye captain... Seniors Chris Davis and Eric Detzel will serve as team captains for the 2010 campaign.

wheeling and dealing... Junior Chris Wheeler has scored 28 goals in his first three seasons in Emmitsburg and now sits in sixth place on the program's all-time career goal list and second place in Division I program history. Next on the all-time list is Brad Heister (29, 1987-90) in fifth place on the all-time list and Duncan Gladwin (32,1996-99) is the all-time leader in goals in the Mount Division I era. The junior also sits in fourth place in points in Division I history with 60, 13 points shy Simon Hodkin (73, 1996-99). He also moved into ninth place on the all-time career points list. Next on list is Don Barry (65, 1987-90). The junior also sits in fourth place in career shots (192). Next on the list is Mark Southern (195, 1994-97). Wheeler tied the program's single-season record for goals in a season with 12 in his freshman year, including becoming the seventh player in Division I history to notch a hat trick when he found the twine against Robert Morris on Oct. 10, 2008.

eric in the middle... Senior Eric Detzel also is moving up on the program's Division I charts. The senior sits in seventh place with 15 goals in Mount Division I history with Don Barry (18, 1988-90) next on the list. Detzel also stands in eighth place with 43 points and sits in eighth place in program history with 14 assists. Next on the assist list is Joe Young (16, 1987-90) in seventh place and next on the Division I point list are Brad Heister (48, 1988-90) and Dan Gaertner (48, 1993-96) in sixth place..

no fins to slow him down... Senior Scott Phinith sits in 10th place for assists in Mount Divisoion I history with 10 assists. Next on the list is former teammate Vinnie Berry (11, 2005-08) in eighth place. The senior has five goals and 10 assists for 20 points in his career.

the man protecting the pipes... Senior Chris Davis sits in fourth place for all-time minutes played (5015) at the Mount. Next on the list is Mark Murphy (5070, 2002-06) in third place. Davis is also fourth in career shutouts with 14 while Larry Howley (16, 1984-87) and Rob Ray (16, 1997-00) are tied for second on the all-time list. Davis recorded eight shutouts as a sophomore to notch the most shutouts in a campaign since 1999.

local rivalries... Mount St. Mary's will play four teams from the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area this season. The squad will host Towson (L, 0-2), George Washington (W, 4-3) and UMBC (L, 2-3) and traveled to Howard (W, 2-0) this season.

new to the mountain... Head coach Rob Ryerson has added eight players to his 2010 roster. Freshmen Zoncher Dennis (Abijam, Ivory Coast), Jimmy Ockford (Yardley, Pa.), Connor Waraksa (Media, Pa.) and Patrick Wheeler (Newcastle, Australia) were signed to National Letters of Intent while junior transfer Peter Steve (Dallas, Pa.) also signed a scholarship. Steve went to Cincinnati for two years, but did not play in a game with the Bearcats. Freshmen Steve Hamilton (Manchester, Md.), Mike Molloy (Baltimore, Md.) and sophomore Koudzo Komlan (Lome, Togo) also joined the team.

players from down under... Junior Chris Davis (Townsville, Australia), the first men's soccer player to hail from Australia, was joined by fellow countrymen Chris Wheeler (Newcastle, Australia) in 2008. Wheeler's brother Patrick Wheeler (Newcastle, Australia) joined the team in 2010.

the family continues to grow... Head coach Rob Ryerseon has coached five of the eight brother combos in Mount men's soccer history. Freshmen Jimmy Ockford and Patrick Wheeler join the team this season to join their brothers sophomore Alex Ockford and junior Chris Wheeler. In addition, freshman Connor Waraksa becomes the third member of his family to play Division I athletics and the second at the Mount. Connor's sister, Breana, was a four-year letterwinner on the women's lacrosse team and still holds the single game and career record for assists.

home sweet home emmitsburg... Under head coach Rob Ryerson, Mount St. Mary's is 33-29-3 at home, including 4-2-1 in 2000 (Ryerson's first season) and 5-1 in 2003.

foreign flavor... Head coach Rob Ryerson has six international students on the team in 2010. Senior Chris Davis (Townsville, Australia) , junior Chris Wheeler (Newcastle, Australia) and sophomore Will Jagger (Crowsborough, England) return in 2010 while sophomore Koudzo Komlan (Lome, Togo) and freshmen Zoncher Dennis (Abijam, Ivory Coast) and Patrick Wheeler (Newcastle, Australia) joins the fray this season.

waldron family stadium... Mount St. Mary's is 14-15-1 at the Waldron Family Stadium. The squad moved into the state-of-the-art 1,000-seat Waldron Family Stadium for a full season in 2007. The Mount played three games in the venue in 2006, posting a 2-1 record. The Mountaineers lost their inaugural match at the stadium to Monmouth 3-0 on Oct. 15, 2006 before ending the season with wins against Sacred Heart (2-1) and Northeast Conference Tournament bound Fairleigh Dickinson (1-0 2OT).

friday night lights... Mount St. Mary's played its first two night games at Waldron Family Stadium last season and have posted a 1-2 mark under the lights. The Mount will host Towson (L, 0-2), Bryant (Oct. 22) and Robert Morris (Oct. 29) under the lights in 2010.

about the coach... Head coach Rob Ryerson is entering his 11th season at the helm of the men's soccer team at the Mount, posting a career record of 59-100-22. He has led the Mount to a 34-45-14 mark in NEC regular season games. Ryerson was named the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Mountaineers to a 9-10-1 overall mark and a 5-4 record in league play and the squad's first NEC Tournament appearance since 1999 in the 2008 campaign.