Men's Soccer Wraps Up Homestand Against 'Nova and Princeton
9/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY REPORT - September 28, 2011 (.pdf)
PIRATES SURPASS 2010 WIN TOTAL
With their 1-0 win over Columbia on Sep. 26, the Pirates earned their fourth victory of the season surpassing last season's win-total.
SHU EARNS DRAW AGAINST #1 MARYLAND
Seton Hall played its best defensive game of the season in a 0-0 tie against then #1 Maryland on Sep. 20. The Pirates have now tied ranked teams in each of the last four seasons, and for the second straight year, SHU has drawn with a top-five foe. SHU last win against a ranked opponent since at 3-1 win over #3 UConn on Oct. 21, 2005.
MAD MAX
Sophomore Max Gacia has been on a tear this season, leading the team with four goals. For his exploits, TopDrawerSoccer.com named him the #17 player by TopDrawerSoccer.com. In addition, he currently leads the conference in shots with 41.
SUPER MARIO
Freshman goalkeeper Mario DeClerico made his collegiate debut on Sep. 20 against top-ranked Maryland and earned his first career shutout after making four saves. He now has two shutouts after keeping a clean-sheet in two of his three starts after a win over Columbia on Sep. 26.
REICHWALDT NAMED BIG EAST GOALKEEPER OF WEEK
Sophomore Anthony Reichwaldt was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Sep. 12. Reichwaldt helped the Pirates go 2-0 and posted a 0.50 goals against average at Army and BU. He is the first Pirate to earn the honor since Paul McHenry in September of 2009.
UNDERMANNED PIRATES TOP ARMY
Playing without two starters and down a man for much of the second half, SHU earned its first win of the season, a 1-0 triumph on a rainy night at Army. The win snapped a 10-game winless streak dating back to 2010.
REICHWALDT BLANKS BLACK KNIGHTS
Ironically, after spending a year serving for the military in Afghanistan, sophomore Anthony Reichwaldt earned his first career victory and clean sheet at Army. Reichwaldt made seven saves in the win.
GABRIELE ANSWERS THE BELL
Junior Adriano Gabriele did not have a goal in his two-year career coming into the season, but posted back-to-back tallies off penalty kicks against Delaware (Sep. 1) and Army (Sep. 5).
NEW FACES
The Pirates have 11 newcomers on the squad this season, including highly touted forward Cody Hess, defenseman Jason Wellington, and midfielders Damian Bziukiewicz and Konrad Plewa.
ALUMNI UPDATE
Former SHU standout Sacha Kljestan just completed another round of duty with the U.S. Men's National Team for a pair of friendlies against Costa Rica (Sep. 2) and Belgium (Sep. 6). The midfielder has played in every game for RSCA Anderlecht of the Belgian Jupiler League and UEFA Europa League, posting a goal and two assists. This is Kljestan's second season with the club after spending five seasons with Chivas USA of the MLS.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
The Pirates were picked seventh in the BIG EAST's Blue Division. Connecticut was tabbed to win the Blue Division, while defending conference champion and national finalist Louisville was selected as the favorite in the Red Division.
THE ROAD TO RED BULL
Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. will serve as host for the the semifinals (Nov. 11) and the championship game (Nov. 13) of the 2011 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship. The champion receives the league's automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. For ticket information, please visit BIGEASTSOCCER.COM
