Men's Soccer Heads to Syracuse
9/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SYRACUSE SERIES HISTORY • Seton Hall leads the all-time series with Syracuse, 15-4-3. • The Pirates won their last meeting against Syracuse, beating the Orange, 3-1, at Syracuse in 2009. • SHU's 3-1 win at Syracuse in 2009 was also its last victory in a BIG EAST Conference opener.
HONORED AGAIN Junior forward Max Garcia was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Sept. 17, for a second time this season. He scored the game-winner in the Pirates' 1-0 win over No. 19 Monmouth to garner the conference accolade.
PIRATES IN BIG EAST OPENERS Seton Hall is 13-12-2 all-time in BIG EAST Conference opening matches. The Pirates' last win in a conference opener came at Syracuse University in a 3-1 victory on Sept. 18, 2009. SHU lost last year's BIG EAST opening tilt at DePaul, 2-1.
GARCIA IS STREAKING With three goals in the last three games, junior Max Garcia has already tied his goal and point totals from the 2011 season, before even reaching the midway point of his 2012 campaign. He has scored one goal in each of the last three games and has registered the game-winner in three-straight contests.
SHU UPSETS NO. 19 MONMOUTH Seton Hall University picked up its first win over a ranked opponent this season with a 1-0 victory over No. 19 Monmouth on Sept. 14. Junior Max Garcia scored the game-winner in the 18th minute and Seton Hall's defense limited the Hawks to just two shots on goal.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE Junior forward Max Garcia is one of the Pirates' two team captains for 2012 and has been one of the team's statistical leaders as well. He ranks in the top-10 in the conference in five statistical categories.
BONDER SHUTS OUT NO. 19 HAWKS Junior goalkeeper Kevin Bonder stopped both shots he faced to record a 1-0 shutout over No. 19 Monmouth on Sept. 19. The clean sheet was his first of the season and the third of his career. He is tied for third in the BIG EAST with 4.00 saves per game.
BATTISTESA GETS ON THE SCOREBOARD Junior defender Christian Battistesa found the back of the net for the first time in his career as he scored a first-half goal in Seton Hall's 2-1 win at Delaware on Sept. 19.
KUZAN'S CAREER HIGH Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Michael Kuzan made a career-high 13 saves to help Seton Hall hold off Delaware for a 2-1 road victory on Sept. 19. The 13 saves shattered Kuzan's previous career-high of six, set against Saint Peter's on Sept. 28, 2010.
GARCIA/LAGG ALL-TOURNAMENT Junior forward Max Garcia and freshman midfielder Eric Lagg were both named to the Old Dominion Stihl Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team. Garcia scored off a penalty kick in the Pirates' match with Virginia Commonwealth and finished the tournament with a team-high five shots. Lagg started both games at midfield for Seton Hall.
VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS Seton Hall has faced two teams ranked in the NSCAA Top-25 poll this season, going 1-1 in those matchups, falling to Old Dominion but defeating Monmouth. Four of SHU's remaining opponents are currently ranked in the top-25.
GARCIA REACHES DOUBLE FIGURES By converting a penalty kick against Virginia Commonwealth on Sept. 9, SHU junior Max Garcia scored the 10th goal of his career. Garcia led the Pirates in scoring last season and leads The Hall once again this year with five goals and an assist for 11 points.
MAX GARCIA HONORED Junior forward Max Garcia was named to the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Sept. 3, marking the first time this season and the second time in his career he has received the honor. Garcia scored goals against Army and Princeton to land on the conference Honor Roll.
WORKING OVERTIME Seton Hall played its first overtime game of the year against Rider on Sept. 3, and the Pirates ended up with a positive result, winning 2-1 just 44 seconds into the extra period. Sophomore midfielder Andrew LoManto headed in the game-winner, the first of his career. It was the Pirates' first overtime win since a 2-1 victory over Boston University on Sept. 9, 2012.
NICE START Freshman midfielder Eric Lagg made the first start of his career against Rider on Sept, 3, and he made an immediate impact, scoring the first goal of his career in the 45th minute.
ECHEVERRY ERA BEGINS The season opener against Saint Peter's University marked the beginning of a new era for Seton Hall soccer under first-year head coach Gerson Echeverry. Echeverry was hired this winter after long-time head coach Manfred Schellscheidt announced his retirement after 24 years roaming the sidelines.
• Echeverry played at Seton hall from 1991-94, winning BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors in 1991. • Echeverry was the top assistant coach at Seton Hall for five seasons (2003-07). • Over the last three seasons Echeverry was an assistant coach for the USSF U17 men's national team.
FIRST-CAREER VICTORY First year head coach Gerson Echeverry notched the first win of his coaching career with a 2-0 victory over Army on Aug. 27. The win was the 452nd in Seton Hall men's soccer history.
GREENE SCORES FIRST GOAL OF THE YEAR Seton Hall's first goal of the 2012 season went to sophomore midfielder Kai Greene, who headed in a corner kick in the 25th minute against Saint Peter's University on Aug. 24.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN Senior midfielder Adriano Gabriele scored the game-winning goal against Army off a penalty kick in the Pirates' 2-0 win over the Black Knights on Aug. 27. If the sight looked familiar it is because Gabriele scored the game-winner against Army last year too, also with a penalty kick. He has two game-winning scores in his career.
SHU SCORES A RARE PAIR Seton Hall defeated Army, 2-0, on Aug. 27, behind a pair of corner kicks from senior Adriano Gabriele and junior Max Garcia. It is the first time since 2007 that the Pirates converted two penalty kicks in the same game. Eliseo Giusfredi scored twice via PK in a 6-2 win over Pennsylvania on Sept. 3, 2007.
KUZAN PICKS UP SHUTOUT Redshirt-senior Michael Kuzan earned his first shutout of the season and the second of his career in SHU's 2-0 win over Army on Aug. 27. He turned away four shots to post a clean sheet and record his first shutout since 2010.
COACHING STAFF ADDITIONS New head coach Gerson Echeverry made two additions to his coaching staff for the 2012 season. Vincent Marcotrigiano will serve as the Pirates' full-time assistant coach will Guillermo Valencia has come on board to work with SHU's goalkeepers. Marcotrigiano played collegiately at George Mason University before enjoying a six-year professional career. Valencia has coached at the youth, club, collegiate and national level, and played professionally for 16 years.
2012 TEAM CAPTAINS Seton Hall features two captains for this year's team in junior forward Max Garcia and sophomore defender Mateusz Brela.
BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL Seton Hall was picked to finish in sixth place in the Blue Division in the 2012 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Pirates went 5-11-2 overall last season and 1-8 in the BIG EAST. They picked up 27 points to finish sixth in the poll. SHU returns 20 letterwinners and six of its top seven scorers from a year ago.
KLJESTAN INTO HALL OF FAME Former Seton Hall men's soccer standout Sacha Kljestan was inducted into the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony held Monday, June 11, at the Fairmount Country Club in Chatham, N.J. Kljestan led the Pirates to three-straight NCAA Tournament berths from 2003-05. He was a two-time All-American and still holds the program's single-season assists record at 15.
CLASS OF 2016 Head coach Gerson Echeverry and the men's soccer program brought in six freshman this offseason to make up the Class of 2016. Joining the Pirates on the field this fall will be forward Danny Bartok (Union, N.J.), midfielder Lucas Della Ventura (Brookline, Mass.), midfielder Eric Lagg (Lafayette, N.J.), defender Pasquale Suriano (Lebanon, N.J.), defender Julian Kennedy (Nindorf, Germany) and defender Chris Hall (Bridgewater, N.J.).
HONORED AGAIN Junior forward Max Garcia was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Sept. 17, for a second time this season. He scored the game-winner in the Pirates' 1-0 win over No. 19 Monmouth to garner the conference accolade.
PIRATES IN BIG EAST OPENERS Seton Hall is 13-12-2 all-time in BIG EAST Conference opening matches. The Pirates' last win in a conference opener came at Syracuse University in a 3-1 victory on Sept. 18, 2009. SHU lost last year's BIG EAST opening tilt at DePaul, 2-1.
GARCIA IS STREAKING With three goals in the last three games, junior Max Garcia has already tied his goal and point totals from the 2011 season, before even reaching the midway point of his 2012 campaign. He has scored one goal in each of the last three games and has registered the game-winner in three-straight contests.
SHU UPSETS NO. 19 MONMOUTH Seton Hall University picked up its first win over a ranked opponent this season with a 1-0 victory over No. 19 Monmouth on Sept. 14. Junior Max Garcia scored the game-winner in the 18th minute and Seton Hall's defense limited the Hawks to just two shots on goal.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE Junior forward Max Garcia is one of the Pirates' two team captains for 2012 and has been one of the team's statistical leaders as well. He ranks in the top-10 in the conference in five statistical categories.
| CATEGORY | STAT | RANK |
| Shots | 29 | 2nd |
| Shots/Game | 3.62 | 3rd |
| Goals | 5 | T-2nd |
| Points | 11 | T-2nd |
| Goals/Game | 0.62 | T-4th |
BATTISTESA GETS ON THE SCOREBOARD Junior defender Christian Battistesa found the back of the net for the first time in his career as he scored a first-half goal in Seton Hall's 2-1 win at Delaware on Sept. 19.
KUZAN'S CAREER HIGH Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Michael Kuzan made a career-high 13 saves to help Seton Hall hold off Delaware for a 2-1 road victory on Sept. 19. The 13 saves shattered Kuzan's previous career-high of six, set against Saint Peter's on Sept. 28, 2010.
GARCIA/LAGG ALL-TOURNAMENT Junior forward Max Garcia and freshman midfielder Eric Lagg were both named to the Old Dominion Stihl Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team. Garcia scored off a penalty kick in the Pirates' match with Virginia Commonwealth and finished the tournament with a team-high five shots. Lagg started both games at midfield for Seton Hall.
VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS Seton Hall has faced two teams ranked in the NSCAA Top-25 poll this season, going 1-1 in those matchups, falling to Old Dominion but defeating Monmouth. Four of SHU's remaining opponents are currently ranked in the top-25.
GARCIA REACHES DOUBLE FIGURES By converting a penalty kick against Virginia Commonwealth on Sept. 9, SHU junior Max Garcia scored the 10th goal of his career. Garcia led the Pirates in scoring last season and leads The Hall once again this year with five goals and an assist for 11 points.
MAX GARCIA HONORED Junior forward Max Garcia was named to the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Sept. 3, marking the first time this season and the second time in his career he has received the honor. Garcia scored goals against Army and Princeton to land on the conference Honor Roll.
WORKING OVERTIME Seton Hall played its first overtime game of the year against Rider on Sept. 3, and the Pirates ended up with a positive result, winning 2-1 just 44 seconds into the extra period. Sophomore midfielder Andrew LoManto headed in the game-winner, the first of his career. It was the Pirates' first overtime win since a 2-1 victory over Boston University on Sept. 9, 2012.
NICE START Freshman midfielder Eric Lagg made the first start of his career against Rider on Sept, 3, and he made an immediate impact, scoring the first goal of his career in the 45th minute.
ECHEVERRY ERA BEGINS The season opener against Saint Peter's University marked the beginning of a new era for Seton Hall soccer under first-year head coach Gerson Echeverry. Echeverry was hired this winter after long-time head coach Manfred Schellscheidt announced his retirement after 24 years roaming the sidelines.
• Echeverry played at Seton hall from 1991-94, winning BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors in 1991. • Echeverry was the top assistant coach at Seton Hall for five seasons (2003-07). • Over the last three seasons Echeverry was an assistant coach for the USSF U17 men's national team.
FIRST-CAREER VICTORY First year head coach Gerson Echeverry notched the first win of his coaching career with a 2-0 victory over Army on Aug. 27. The win was the 452nd in Seton Hall men's soccer history.
GREENE SCORES FIRST GOAL OF THE YEAR Seton Hall's first goal of the 2012 season went to sophomore midfielder Kai Greene, who headed in a corner kick in the 25th minute against Saint Peter's University on Aug. 24.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN Senior midfielder Adriano Gabriele scored the game-winning goal against Army off a penalty kick in the Pirates' 2-0 win over the Black Knights on Aug. 27. If the sight looked familiar it is because Gabriele scored the game-winner against Army last year too, also with a penalty kick. He has two game-winning scores in his career.
SHU SCORES A RARE PAIR Seton Hall defeated Army, 2-0, on Aug. 27, behind a pair of corner kicks from senior Adriano Gabriele and junior Max Garcia. It is the first time since 2007 that the Pirates converted two penalty kicks in the same game. Eliseo Giusfredi scored twice via PK in a 6-2 win over Pennsylvania on Sept. 3, 2007.
KUZAN PICKS UP SHUTOUT Redshirt-senior Michael Kuzan earned his first shutout of the season and the second of his career in SHU's 2-0 win over Army on Aug. 27. He turned away four shots to post a clean sheet and record his first shutout since 2010.
COACHING STAFF ADDITIONS New head coach Gerson Echeverry made two additions to his coaching staff for the 2012 season. Vincent Marcotrigiano will serve as the Pirates' full-time assistant coach will Guillermo Valencia has come on board to work with SHU's goalkeepers. Marcotrigiano played collegiately at George Mason University before enjoying a six-year professional career. Valencia has coached at the youth, club, collegiate and national level, and played professionally for 16 years.
2012 TEAM CAPTAINS Seton Hall features two captains for this year's team in junior forward Max Garcia and sophomore defender Mateusz Brela.
BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL Seton Hall was picked to finish in sixth place in the Blue Division in the 2012 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Pirates went 5-11-2 overall last season and 1-8 in the BIG EAST. They picked up 27 points to finish sixth in the poll. SHU returns 20 letterwinners and six of its top seven scorers from a year ago.
KLJESTAN INTO HALL OF FAME Former Seton Hall men's soccer standout Sacha Kljestan was inducted into the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony held Monday, June 11, at the Fairmount Country Club in Chatham, N.J. Kljestan led the Pirates to three-straight NCAA Tournament berths from 2003-05. He was a two-time All-American and still holds the program's single-season assists record at 15.
CLASS OF 2016 Head coach Gerson Echeverry and the men's soccer program brought in six freshman this offseason to make up the Class of 2016. Joining the Pirates on the field this fall will be forward Danny Bartok (Union, N.J.), midfielder Lucas Della Ventura (Brookline, Mass.), midfielder Eric Lagg (Lafayette, N.J.), defender Pasquale Suriano (Lebanon, N.J.), defender Julian Kennedy (Nindorf, Germany) and defender Chris Hall (Bridgewater, N.J.).
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