Hall Closes Out Home Stand Against Monmouth
9/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Monmouth Match Notes 
| Live Video |
The Seton Hall University men's soccer team wraps up a critical three-match home stand on Tuesday, Sept. 23, when it hosts Monmouth University at Owen T. Carroll Field at 7 p.m. The Pirates will look to gather momentum before hitting the road for their next four contests, including the BIG EAST opener this Saturday afternoon at DePaul.
Seton Hall is 0-1-1 so far during its home stretch, falling to Princeton and playing No. 18 George Mason to a 0-0 tie. Monmouth comes into the game riding a four-match unbeaten streak, posting a 3-0-1 record which features a 3-0 win over Rutgers and a 1-1 tie at Villanova.
The tie with George Mason was not the result Seton Hall was looking for, but positives surrounding the defensive effort should aid momentum heading into the showdown with Monmouth. The Pirates were coming off a game five days earlier in which they relinquished a season-high five goals to Princeton, and George Mason boasted one of the most potent offenses in the country, averaging 2.6 goals per game.
Patriot leading scorer Timi Mulgrew was limited to just one shot on net, and Seton Hall goalkeeper Julian Spindler (Weiersbach, Germany) made a career-high seven saves, including a critical stop in double overtime, to pick up his second shutout of the season and his first clean sheet against a ranked opponent in his career. For his efforts, Spindler was named to the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Weekly Honor Roll for the second time this season.
Offensively, senior Kai Greene (South Orange, N.J.) and sophomore Samuel Geiler (Offenburg, Germany) generated the majority of the Pirates' dangerous scoring chances against George Mason, with Greene firing a shot off the left post early in the second half. Senior midfielder Andrew LoManto (Massapequa, N.Y.) provided an offensive boost as a reserve, firing a career-high three shot attempts, including a header near the end of regulation that Steffen Kraus barely managed to clear away.
In Monmouth, Seton Hall will see its defensive front tested once again as the Hawks are averaging 2.17 goals per game and feature several options on the offensive end. Dom Sarle leads the team with four goals and two assists for 10 points, while Dave Nigro and Bryant Avalos both have three goals apiece.
Goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky is allowing less than a goal per game and already has three shutout to his credit this season, boasting a 0.63 goals against average.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MONMOUTH
Seton Hall leads the all-time series with Monmouth 6-5-1 and the two programs will be meeting for the sixth-consecutive season and have played in seven of the last eight years. The Hawks have controlled the series as of late, winning three of the last five meetings. SHU beat then No. 19 Monmouth at home, 1-0, when they played in 2012, and nearly made it two in a row last year, but the Pirates saw a 1-0 lead slip away with less than a minute to play and the squads tied 1-1.
QUICK HITS
- Monmouth has controlled the series with Seton Hall during their recent matchups, winning three of the last five meetings.
- Seton Hall failed to score a goal against No. 18 George Mason last Friday night, marking the first time this season the Pirates were unable to get on the scoreboard.
- The tie against the Patriots was the first tie against a top-25 team for The Hall since playing No. 1 Maryland to a scoreless draw on Sept. 20, 2011.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Julian Spindler was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Sept. 22, for the second time this season and the third time in his career after making a career-high seven saves in the shutout tie against George Mason on Friday night.
- Senior midfielder Andrew LoManto had a career-high three shot attempts against George Mason last Friday, seeing one header in the second half, barely cleared away by Patriot keeper Steffen Krauss.
- Monmouth is riding a four-match unbeaten streak, posting a 3-0-1 record over that stretch. Most recently, the Hawks shutout Rutgers, 3-0, and played Villanova to a 1-1 tie last Saturday on the road.
- The Hawks are averaging 2.17 goals per game, and are led offensively by Dom Sarle, who has four goals an two assists for 10 points. Monmouth boasts several viable options offensively, as Dave Nigro and Bryant Avalos have three goals apiece.
- Eric Klenofsky has played all 575:06 in net for the Hawks, posting a 0.63 GAA with an .857 save percentage and three shutouts.
SPINDLER BACK ON THE HONOR ROLL
Sophomore goalkeeper Julian Spindler was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second time this season after making a career-high seven saves in a 0-0 shutout against No. 18 George Mason on Friday afternoon. Spindler's key moment of the game came in the second overtime, when he made an acrobatic save on a Timi Mulgrew header in the 102nd minute to preserve the scoreless draw. It was the first shutout against a ranked foe for Spindler in six attempts.
STRAIGHT ZEROS
Seton Hall played No. 18 George Mason to a scoreless draw on Friday, Sept. 19, marking the first time this season the Pirates have failed to score at least once goal. It was Seton Hall's first match where neither team scored since The Hall tied then No. 1 Maryland, 0-0, on Sept. 20, 2011.
UNBEATEN IN OT
During the Gerson Echeverry era, Seton Hall has boasted an impressive record during overtime contests. In fact, the Pirates have not lost in overtime during Echeverry's three seasons as head coach. SHU has played seven matches that reached extra time over the past two-plus seasons, posting a 4-0-3 record in those contests. Seton Hall's last overtime loss came against Marquette, 3-2, back on Oct. 20, 2010.
