Pirates Stay in State to Take On Rider
10/2/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 2, 2013
SETTING THE STAGE
- Seton Hall takes a one game hiatus from BIG EAST play when it heads to Lawrenceville, N.J., to take on the Rider Broncs on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m.
- After facing Rider and Georgetown on the road in the coming week, the Pirates will have four consecutive home games at Owen T. Carroll Field; six of the Pirates' last eight games will be at home.
- The Broncs hold a record of 5-2, although they have yet to play a conference game and are coming off a 2-1 loss vs. NJIT, a team the Pirates will face on Oct. 16.
- Freshman Christian Flath leads Rider with eleven points, including four goals and three assists, followed by classmate Sonimi Halliday, who has two goals on the year.
SCOUTING THE BRONCS
The Broncs have gotten off to a solid 5-2 start, with their biggest win coming against Saint Joseph's, whom they defeated at home 3-1. The team is led primarily by freshmen mid Christian Flath and back Sonimi Halliday who have combined for a total of six of the team's 10 goals. Other players who see big minutes for Rider are freshmen backs Warren Holmes, Rob Nardiello, and senior Eric Elgin. For the week of September 16-22, freshman goalkeeper David Pastuna was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week.
SERIES HISTORY VS. RIDER
The Pirates have faced the Broncs a total of 21 times with a record of 8-11-2. The first matchup between these two schools dates back to 1939, where Rider was victorious 1-0. Seton Hall's most recent victory came in 2012, where the Pirates came away with a 2-1 victory in overtime with an unassisted goal from Andrew LoManto 44 seconds into the first overtime period. The Pirates have won three of their last four games against Rider.
TROUBLE ON THE ROAD
The Pirates struggles on the road have been well documented this season as they are 0-3-1, having scored only two goals in those four games. They are hoping for a change in fortune when they take on Rider.
WHEN WE LAST MET
Seton hall earned a hard fought 2-1 victory in overtime in last year's matchup against Rider. Senior Andrew LoManto scored the game-winning goal only 44 seconds into the first overtime period.
BATTLE OF THE FRESHMEN
Both team's points leaders are freshmen. Midfielder Samuel Geiler leads Seton Hall with four goals and eight points, while his Rider counterpart Christian Flath leads the Broncs with 11 points, including four goals and three assists. Both players are originally from Germany.
PUTTING IT IN THE NET
Over their first eight games, the Pirates have attempted a total of 24 more shots than their opponents. Unfortunately, this has not translated into goals as they have been outscored 15-13 on the season.
UNSELFISH PLAY
After missing all of last season with an injury, redshirt junior Victor Manosalvas has come back strong this year, accumulating four assists in eight starts, which is second in the BIG EAST.
