Men's Soccer Set To Open Season at Nike/ALLTEL Classic
8/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall men's soccer team will open the 2006 season at the Nike/ALLTEL Classic in Richmond, Va., this weekend when it faces James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth. The Pirates open the year on Friday, Aug. 25, against JMU in a 5:30 p.m. game at Sports Backers Stadium and will then face the host VCU Rams on Sunday, Aug. 27, at 3:30 p.m.
The Pirates return 16 letterwinners from a team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round and posted a 13-4-3 mark. Manfred Schellscheidt and his staff earned the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year after leading the team to a second-place finish in the BIG EAST Blue Division with a 6-2-3 mark. However, the Pirates must replace seven seniors and two-time All-American Sacha Kljestan.
Schellscheidt, who enters the weekend with 199 career wins, brings back a squad that will be led by a strong senior class, notably tri-captains Matt Gilbert (Parsippany, N.J.), Gordon Kljestan (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Teddy Niziolek (Clifton, N.J.). Kljestan earned a spot on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, as did sophomore Eliseo Giusfredi (Paterson, N.J.). Giusfredi led the team with 11 goals last year, while his strike partner, senior John Raus (Stamford, Conn.) is coming off a 10 goal, six assist campaign. Senior Ian Joyce (Kinnelon, N.J.) will take over as the top goalkeeper after posting a 5-1-2 mark and 0.94 GAA last season. With the return of seven starters, the Pirates were picked third in the Blue Division in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches Poll.
SHU's first opponent, James Madison, is coming off a 12-7-2 mark and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Dukes were picked third in the Preseason CAA Poll and are led by senior Kurt Morsink. The two-time First Team All-CAA pick posted nine goals and six assists last year. The JMU defense posted eight shutouts last season and return goalkeeper Kevin Trapp who stated all 18 games in net. Head coach Tom Martin's squad received votes in the preseason College Soccer News Top 30 Poll.
Virginia Commonwealth had finished atop the CAA three straight seasons, before slipping to 6-10-4 last year. VCU returns just four starters from last year, but top-scorer Pat Viray (six goals) will try to jump-start the Rams' offense in 2006. Sophomore Andrew Dykstra started 17 games as a rookie and recorded five shutouts for Tim O'Sullivan's team. The Rams were picked fourth in the Preseason CAA Poll.
