Game 2: Mount St. Mary's (0-1-0) at Towson (0-1-0)
WHEN: Thu, Sept. 1, 2011, 5 p.m.
WHERE: Tiger Soccer Complex, Towson, Md.
SERIES INFORMATION: Towson leads 21-13-3
LAST MEETING: Towson (2-0) 9-1-10
FIRST MEETING: Towson (3-0) 11-7-53
LAST MOUNT WIN: (1-0) 9-9-00
IN TOWSON: Towson leads 12-7-2
opening kick... Thursday's meeting between Mount St. Mary's and Towson marks the 38th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1953 season. The Tigers lead the all-time series 21-13-3, including 2-0 victories in the last two meetings (2007, 2010). The Mount's last win in the series was a 1-0 decision in 2000.
about the tigers... Towson comes into the match 0-1-1 after falling 2-0 at No. 26 New Mexico on Friday. Sophomore forward Olakunie Banjo is the squad's top returning scorer after posting seven goals and five assists for 19 points. Sophomore goalkeeper Angelo Vitteritti posted 53 saves, a 1.69 goals against average and a .736 save percentage. Senior goalkeeper John Steele, who started six games last year, got the starting nod in the season opener and recorded seven saves.
last time we met... Towson defeated Mount St. Mary's 2-0 in the men's soccer season opener for both teams on Sept. 2, 2010. Chris Davis made two saves for the Mount while senior Eric Detzel had three shots in the loss. Marco Mangione and Zach Hoffer each scored for the Tigers off helpers from Phil Greatwich and Liam Maloney, respectively. John Steele made two saves in the winning effort.
Last time out… UMBC scored in the 59th minute to down Mount St. Mary's 1-0 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday. The game was moved to the afternoon match due to the impending weather from Hurricane Irene. Peter Steve made three saves for the Mount while Chris Wheeler registered seven shots in the match.
next on tap… Mount St. Mary's makes its 2011 home debut against Rider on Sunday at 3 p.m. The squad will then participate in the Lafayette Tournament before returning to Waldron Family Stadium for four-straight home games and five of the next six.
for starters... Mount St. Mary's is 29-24-8 in the season opener all-time and 5-5-2 under head coach Rob Ryerson. After winning back-to-back season openers in 2008 and 2009, the Mount has lost its last two season openers.
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 (33) as a junior. Wheeler also ranks fourth on the Division chart with 71 points. Next on the list is Simon Hodkin (73, 1996-99) in third place and Duncan Gladwin (77, 1996-99) in second place while Mark Southern (80, 1994-97) is the all-time leader for points in the Mount's Division I history. Wheeler is the program's all-time leader in shots (237) and could make a move on the all-time goal and points mark. The senior currently has 33 goals to sit fourth in program history, 12 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 Jaeho Song (34, 1980-83) in third place. On the all-time points list, Wheeler has 71 career points and needs 30 points to Tallarido's all-time mark (101). Next on the list is Hodkin (73) in sixth 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 will once again have 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 will travel to Towson on Sept. 1 while hosting Howard 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 36-30-4 at home, including 4-2-1 in 2000 (Ryerson's first season) and 5-1 in 2003.
waldron family stadium... Mount St. Mary's is 17-16-2 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 3-3 mark under the lights. The Mount will host Howard (Sept. 19) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (Oct. 28) at night in 2011.
in the league... The Mount is 74-87-27 in Northeast Conference matches. The Mountaineers are 36-50-15 under head coach Rob Ryerson in the NEC and 7-2-2 in the conference opener, including back-to-back NEC opening wins in 2008 and 2009. The Mount is 11-9-2 in the last three seasons in the league.
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 63-106-23. He has led the Mount to a 36-50-15 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.
