Game 8: Central Connecticut State (3-5-0, 0-0-0 NEC) at Mount St. Mary's (3-3-1, 0-0-0 NEC)
WHEN: Fri, Sept. 30, 2011, 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
SERIES INFORMATION: CCSU leads 8-5-0
LAST MEETING: Mount (1-0) 10-1-10
FIRST MEETING: CCSU (2-0) 10-2-98
LAST CCSU WIN: (3-1) 11-7-08
IN EMMITSBURG: Series tied at 3
opening kick... Friday's game between Mount St. Mary's and Central Connecticut State marks the 14th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1998 season. The Mount has won the last two matchups, but the Blue Devils hold an 8-5 margin in the series. Mount St. Mary's won 1-0 last season in New Britain while Central Connecticut State's last victory was a 3-1 decision in 2008.
about the blue devils... Central Connecticut State comes into the NEC opener 3-5-0 overall after falling 3-2 to Air Force on Sunday. Reece Wilson leads the team with two goals and one assist for five points while junior midfielder Mamoudou Dioubate, junior midfielder Jesse Menzies and junior forward Thomas Obasi are tied with one goal and one assist for three points. Junior goalkeeper Anthony Occialini leads the team with 24 saves, a 1.23 goals against average and a .750 save percentage.
last time we met… Eric Detzel scored in the 53rd minute to lead Mount St. Mary's past Central Connecticut State 1-0 on Oct. 1, 2010. Detzel notched his second goal of the season after Will Thomas dribbled toward the goal and then passed the ball to Detzel, who quickly redirected the ball across the net to beat the goalkeeper to the far right corner for the game's only tally at the 52:18 mark. Chris Davis made five saves for the Mount in the winning effort. Anthony Occhialini turned away two shots for the Blue Devils in the loss.
Game 9: St. Francis (N.Y.) (5-2-0, 0-0-0 NEC) at Mount St. Mary's (3-3-1, 0-0-0 NEC)
WHEN: Fri, Sept. 30, 2011, 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Waldron Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.
SERIES INFORMATION: Series tied 10-10-2
LAST MEETING: St. Francis (N.Y.) (2-0) 10-15-10
FIRST MEETING: St. Francis (N.Y.) (3-1) 10-29-89
LAST MOUNT WIN: (2-0) 10-26-08
IN EMMITSBURG: Mount leads 7-3-0
opening kick... Sunday's game between Mount St. Mary's and St. Francis (N.Y.) marks the 23rd meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1989 season. The series is deadlocked at 10-10-2 after the Terriers have taken the last two tilts. St. Francis (N.Y.) won last year's meeting 1-0 in Brooklyn while the Mount's last win in the series was a 2-0 decision in 2008.
about the terriers... St. Francis (N.Y.) comes into the match on a five-game winning streak and 5-2-0 overall after defeating Rider 1-0 on Saturday. Sophomore forward Gabriel Bagot leads the team with four goals and two assists for 10 points. Junior midfielder Adam Maabdi ranks second on the squad with three tallies and one assist for seven points while senior midfielder Jonas Pantelidis is third with a goal and two assists for four points. Junior goalkeeper Tyler Clarhaut has 24 saves, a 0.90 goals against average and a .774 save percentage.
last time we met… St. Francis (N.Y.) scored twice in the final 16 minutes to defeat Mount St. Mary's 2-0 on Oct. 15, 2010. Chris Davis made three saves for the Mount in the loss. John Sallhag and Robbie Weir each scored for the Terriers while Curtis Julien and Paul Benkert shared the shutout of each playing 45 minutes and making a combined four saves in the match.
last time out… Zoncher Dennis set a new Mount St. Mary's Division I record by scoring four goals in a game to lift Mount St. Mary's past La Salle 5-0 on Saturday. Dennis scored three times in the first half in the 12th, 17th and 36th minutes to become the eighth player to notch a hat trick in the Mountaineers' Division I era and the first since Chris Wheeler found the twine three times against Robert Morris on Oct. 10, 2008. The freshman then became the first player in the program's Division I history to post four goals in a game with his sixth goal of the season in the 51st minute. Dennis also 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. Matthew Steele notched his first collegiate goal for the Mount while Wheeler, Jimmy Ockford, Kyle Patrick and Ian Hendrie each recorded an assist on the afternoon. Peter Steve made two saves and earned his second-straight shutout.
next on tap… The Mount hits the road for its first league game on the road at Fairleigh Dickinson on Oct. 7 before returning home to host Long Island on Oct. 9. The game against the Blackbirds will mark the Mountaineers five match at Waldron Family Stadium in its last five games.
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 three-straight season-opening wins. It marks the second-straight season and the third time overall the squad will open the circuit against Central Connecticut State. The Mount is 11-9-2 in the last three seasons in the league.
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 four assists foreight 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 nine matches. He has dished out two assists in a contest twice this season.
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 third on the Division chart with 76 points. Next on the list is 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 (259) 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 76 career points to rank sixth and needs 25 points to Tallarido's all-time mark (101). Next on the list is Gladwin (77) in fifth 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 39-30-4 at home, including 3-0-0 this season, 4-2-1 in 2000 (Ryerson's first season) and 5-1 in 2003.
waldron family stadium... Mount St. Mary's is 20-16-2 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 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 66-108-24. 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.
