Pirates Face #18 Marquette Saturday Night
11/1/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2013
SETTING THE STAGE
- The Seton Hall men's soccer team will play its final regular season road match of the season on Saturday, Nov. 2, when it heads to Milwaukee, Wis., to face the No. 18 Marquette Golden Eagles at 9:05 p.m.
- Seton Hall is coming off its biggest win of the season, a 3-2 victory over No. 22 Creighton at home last weekend, while Marquette suffered its first BIG EAST loss of the year, a 1-0 setback to Georgetown last Saturday.
- Seton Hall is currently in a three-way tie with Butler and Villanova for the sixth and final BIG EAST Tournament spot. The Pirates beat Villanova but lost to Butler, while the Bulldogs would be 2-0 in the mini-conference with wins over both Seton Hall and the Wildcats. The playoff picture becomes more muddled when adding to the mix that Creighton is in just one point clear of sixth place and the Pirates own the head-to-head victory over the Bluejays.
- The Pirates have been playing their best soccer of the season over the past month as they are 5-2 in their last seven contests which includes all three of their BIG EAST wins.
- Seton Hall and Marquette have faced one another every year since the series began in 2005. The Pirates controlled the early meetings winning three-straight against their Midwestern rival but the Golden Eagles have fared better in recent matchups, taking the last three results, including a 2-0 win last year in Milwaukee.
- Freshman midfielder Samuel Geiler continues to pace the Seton Hall offense. He score two goals, including the game-winner, in the 3-2 win over Creighton and leads the team with eight goals and four assists for 20 points.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Marquette was off to a slow start this season, posting an 0-1-1 record against UW-Milwaukee and Green Bay to start the year before rattling off three-straight wins to get back on track. The Golden Eagles soared to the top of the BIG EAST standings, winning their first five matches of the season against conference foes, but are just 0-1-1 over the last two games, playing to a scoreless tie at St. John's and falling to Georgetown, 1-0, at home last weekend. Redshirt sophomore forward James Nortey has started in all 15 games up top for Marquette and leads the team in scoring with seven goals and two assists for 16 points. Charlie Lyons has played every second in net, posting eight shutouts with a 0.76 goals against average which ranks second in the conference.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MARQUETTE
Seton Hall and Marquette have squared off for eight-straight seasons dating back to the first-ever meeting in 2005 and the all-time series is tied 3-3-2. Seton Hall won the first three matchups with a pair of ties in between three-straight wins for the Golden Eagles. Marquette won last year's game, 2-0, in Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles are 2-1-1 against Seton Hall when they are at home.
PULLING RANK
With a 3-2 win over No. 22 Creighton Oct. 26, Seton Hall picked up its first victory over a ranked opponent this season, improving to 1-2 in those matches. It also marked the third-straight season the Pirates have at least one victory over a top-25 foe; last year Seton Hall beat then No. 14 Monmouth, 1-0, at Owen T. Carroll Field.
ASSIST MAN
Last year Max Garcia was the Pirates' leading goal scorer, tallying a team-high seven scores to pace the SHU offense. This year Garcia is still finding the back of the net, but he has also been distributing to the team's other play makers. His four assists this year represent a career-high for the fourth-year midfielder and he has aided in two scores for classmate George Velasquez and a pair of goals for freshman Samuel Geiler.
SCORING IN PAIRS
Freshman midfielder Samuel Geiler score two goals in Seton Hall's 3-2 win over Creighton on Oct. 26, which was the third time this season he has netted a pair of scores in the same game. He leads the Pirates in goals scored (8) and total points (20) and Seton Hall is 4-0-1 this year in matches that Geiler has at least one goal.
FRONT RUNNERS
Seton Hall boasts a perfect 5-0-0 record this year when it takes a lead into the half. The Pirates have also seen all seven of their wins come when outshooting an opponent and they are unbeaten at 7-0-1 when scoring more than one goal.
VELASQUEZ NAMED BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior forward George Velasquez was honored as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 21, for his role in leading the Pirates to a pair of wins. He scored the game-winner in a 3-0 win over NJIT and netted two goals in a victory over DePaul. It is the first time in his career Velasquez earned the conference's weekly top offensive honor.
SPINDLER RECEIVES ACCOLADE
The Pirates saw a pair of student-athletes recognized by the BIG EAST Conference on Oct. 21, as freshman goalkeeper Julian Spindler landed on the Weekly Honor Roll. He earned wins over NJIT (3-0) and DePaul (3-1), picking up his second-career shutout with the win over NJIT and second BIG EAST victory in the matchup with DePaul. He stopped seven of the eight shots he faced for an .875 save percentage.
