Game 10: Mount St. Mary's (4-4-1, 1-1-0 NEC)
WHEN: Fri, Oct. 7, 2011, 7 p.m.
WHERE: University Stadium, Teaneck, N.J.
SERIES INFORMATION: FDU leads 13-8-3
LAST MEETING: Mount (1-0) 10-10-10
FIRST MEETING: FDU (6-1) 10-22-89
LAST FDU WIN: (7-2) 11-16-08
IN TEANECK: FDU leads 8-3-1
opening kick... Friday's match between Mount St. Mary's and Fairleigh Dickinson marks the 25th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1989 season. The Knights lead the series 13-8-3, but the Mount has won two straight including a 1-0 decision last season in Emmitsburg. The Mountaineers have won four of the last five regular season meetings while Fairleigh Dickinson's last win in the matchup was a 7-2 decision in the NEC Championship Game in 2008.
about the knights... Fairleigh Dickinson comes into the contest 6-2-1 overall and 2-0-0 in Northeast Conference play after defeating Robert Morris 2-1 on Sunday. Sophomore forward Jonathan Gonzalez leads the team with two goals and three assists for seven points. Junior midfielder Jack McVey ranks second with two goals and one assist for five points while freshman midfielder Anders Vest-Hansen has a goal and two assists for four points and junior midfielder Antony Moore has two tallies for four points. Sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Lissek has 37 saves, a 0.86 goals against average and a .822 save percentage.
last time we met… Alex Ockford headed in the game-winning goal in the 75th minute to lead Mount St. Mary's past Fairleigh Dickinson 1-0 on Oct. 10, 2010. Eric Detzel served the ball into the box on a free kick and found Chris Wheeler, who headed the ball up in the air toward the pipes where Ockford headed the ball into the twine off the goalkeeper's fingers at the 74:59 mark. Chris Davis made one save for the Mount in the winning effort. Jacob Lissek made three saves for the Knights in nearly 75 minutes of action while James McPeake recorded on save in the final 15 minutes.
Game 10: Long Island (3-5-2, 1-1-0 NEC) at Mount St. Mary's (3-3-1, 0-0-0 NEC)
WHEN: Sun, Oct. 9, 2011, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
SERIES INFORMATION: Long Island leads 10-8-4
LAST MEETING: Long Island (3-2) 10-17-10
FIRST MEETING: Mount (3-2) 10-28-89
LAST MOUNT WIN: (3-1) 10-24-08
IN EMMITSBURG: Series tied 5-5-1
opening kick... Sunday's match between Mount St. Mary's and Long Island marks the 23rd meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1989 season. The Blackbirds have won the last two matches by a score of 3-2 to take a 10-8-4 advantage in the all-time series. The Mount's last win in the series was a 3-1 decision in 2008.
about the blackbirds... Long Island comes into the weekend 3-5-2 overall and 1-1-0 in Northeast Conference play after defeating Bryant 4-3 on Sunday. Senior forward Steve Jakubowski and junior midfielder Elliot Kane pace the squad with three goals and one assist for seven points. Junior forward Jakeen Johnson has found the twine twice for four points and senior forward Rommel Forde has dished out four assists for four points. Senior goalkeeper Adam Janssen has 49 saves, a 1.85 goals against average and a .742 save percentage.
last time we met… Long Island scored twice in the second half to down Mount St. Mary's 3-2 on Oct. 17, 2010. Chris Wheeler scored two goals for the Mount while Alex Ockford recorded an assist on Wheeler's first tally of the afternoon. Steve Jakubowski dished out the two assists and then found the twine for the game-winner to fuel the Blackbirds while Dan Sauerhoff and Jakeem Johnson also scored. Adam Janssen turned away four shots in the winning effort.
last time out… St. Francis (N.Y.) scored in the 26th minute to down Mount St. Mary's 1-0 on Sunday. Peter Steve made two saves for the Mount while Chris Wheeler had a team-high five shots in the loss. Steve had his streak of 296 scoreless minutes stopped in the game.
next on tap… After this weekend, the Mountaineers will play four of their final six matches on the road, starting with games at Sacred Heart (Oct. 14) and Bryant (Oct. 16). The squad will then return home to host Quinnipiac (Oct. 23) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (Oct. 28) before heading to Robert Morris (Oct. 30) and Monmouth (Nov. 6) to close out the season.
in the league... The Mount is 75-88-27 in Northeast Conference matches. The Mountaineers are 37-51-15 under head coach Rob Ryerson in the NEC and 8-2-2 in the conference opener, including four-straight season-opening wins
need a bigger trophy case… Freshman Zoncher Dennis was named the Northeast Conference Player and Rookie of the Week for the week of Sept. 19-25 after scoring five goals in the week, including a Mount Division I record four tallies against La Salle on Sept. 24. The freshman was also named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week and SoccerSavings.com/Philly Soccer News Men's College Player of the Week to run his award total to four for the week. Dennis was also named NEC Rookie of the Week for the week of Aug. 28-Sept. 4.
the golden sombrero of goals… Freshman Zoncher Dennis established a new Mount Division I record for goals in a game when he found the twine four times against La Salle on Sept. 24. The freshman tied John Tallarido's all-time single-game mark on the afternoon. Tallarido registered four goals against Washington Bible on Sept. 12, 1980 and also accomplished the feat against Millersville on Sept. 16, 1981.Dennis became the eighth player in Mount Division I history to register a hat trick and the first since Chris Wheeler on Oct. 10, 2008.
wrapping up the non-conference slate… Mount St. Mary's concluded its non-conference slate 3-3-1 after downing La Salle 5-0 on Sept. 24. It marked the first time the squad posted a non-losing mark in non-conference play since finishing 3-3-0 in 2003. The five tallies against the Explorers were the most goals in a game since defeating Robert Morris 6-0 on Oct. 10, 2008.
hendrie finding the twine… Senior Ian Hendrie ranks second on the team with two goals and five assists for nine points. The senior posted two tallies and an assist against Iona on Sept. 11. Hendrie, who has played in the Mount's defense in two of his four seasons, has six goals and four assists for 16 points.
mom always liked you best: Senior Chris Wheeler has been one of the best players in program history, but sophomore Patrick Wheeler is starting to make a name for himself. The younger has three assists this season, including two helpers against Howard on Sept. 19. Patrick has six assists in his last 11 matches. He has dished out two assists in a contest twice in his career.
preseason poll... The Mount St. Mary's men's soccer team has been tabbed to finish fifth according to the Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason Coaches Poll. Monmouth, who is the two-time defending NEC Tournament champion winners of the last six NEC regular season crowns, was selected as the unanimous preseason favorite. Fairleigh Dickinson, Sacred Heart and Saint Francis (Pa.) were picked 2-3-4 while the Mount ended in a fifth-place tie with Long Island. Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, St. Francis (N.Y.), Central Connecticut State and Bryant rounded out the 11-team poll.
wheeling and dealing... Senior Chris Wheeler broke the Mount's Division I single-season goal record after scoring 13 times in 2010. The senior also became the program's Division I leader in career goals as a junior and now stands at 35 markers. Wheeler also ranks second on the Division chart with 77 points. Next on the list is the Division I leader Mark Southern (80, 1994-97). Wheeler is the program's all-time leader in shots (267) and could make a move on the all-time goal and points mark. The senior currently has 35 goals to sit fourth in program history, 10 away (John Tallarido, 45, 1979-81) from the all-time mark. In two of his first three seasons, Wheeler has scored at least 12 goals in a year. Next on the list is Tony Pasiakos (39, 1967-70) in second place. On the all-time points list, Wheeler has 77 career points to rank fifth and needs 24 points to Tallarido's all-time mark (101). Next on the list is Southern (80) in fourth place. Wheeler is also the seventh player in Division I history to notch a hat trick when he found the twine against Robert Morris on Oct. 10, 2008. He was named to the NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region first team in 2010 and earned a spot on the All-NEC first team for the second-straight year after earning NEC Rookie of the Year honors and a spot on the All-NEC second team in his freshman year.
local rivalries... The Mount once again had a local flavor to its non-conference schedule, playing three of its seven non-conference matches against teams from the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. The Mountaineers opened the season at UMBC on Aug. 27 (L, 0-1) and then traveled to Towson on Sept. 1 (T, 1-1) and hosted Howard (W, 2-0) on Sept. 19.
new to the mountain... Head coach Rob Ryerson has added 11 new players to his 2011 squad. Justin Connor, Dom De Aragao, Joshua De Aragao, Vlad Finn, Daniel Gill, Mauricio Navarrete, Will Pereira, Mark Plaisance, John Richards, Brett Smoot and Matthew Steele all joined the team for the 2011 season.
players from down under... Senior Chris Wheeler (Newcastle, Australia) and his brother Patrick Wheeler (Newcastle, Australia) are the second and third players to play at the Mount from Australia. Chris Davis, the first Australian born player in Emmitsburg, graduated in May 2011.
foreign flavor... Along with the Chris and Patrick Wheeler, who hail from Australia, junior Will Jagger (England), sophomore Koudzo Komlan (Togo) and freshman Zoncher Dennis (Ivory Coast) also came to the Mount from abroad.
the family continues to grow... Head coach Rob Ryerseon has coached six of the nine brother combos in Mount men's soccer history. Senior Chris Wheeler and sophomore Patrick Wheeler and junior Alex Ockford and sophomore Jimmy Ockford will play together for the second-straight season. In 2011, the brothers of Dom and Joshua De Aragao joined the squad to become the ninth set of brothers to play men's soccer at the Mount.
home sweet home emmitsburg... Under head coach Rob Ryerson, Mount St. Mary's is 40-31-4 at home, including 4-1-0 this season, 4-2-1 in 2000 (Ryerson's first season) and 5-1 in 2003.
waldron family stadium... Mount St. Mary's is 21-17-2 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 in 2009 and have posted a 4-3 mark under the lights. The Mount will host Howard (Sept. 19) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (Oct. 28) at night in 2011.
about the coach... Head coach Rob Ryerson is entering his 12th season at the helm of the men's soccer team at the Mount, posting a career record of 67-109-24. He has led the Mount to a 37-51-15 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.
