Men's Soccer Prepares For Rutgers and Villanova
9/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SETON HALL MEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY UPDATE...
PIRATES' SHIP SETS SAIL: Seton Hall will be looking to reverse a recent trend as it opens the road portion of its BIG EAST schedule this weekend. Dating back to 2002, the Pirates are 4-12-4 on the road in conference play. The last time SHU posted a winning road record in the BIG EAST was a 3-1-1 mark in 2001. The Pirates have not won a road-opener in the BIG EAST since 2001, going 0-3-1 during that span.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!: Since beginning the year 0-2, Seton Hall has rattled off four straight wins and sits in a tie atop the BIG EAST Blue Division. The Pirates had not lost a season-opener since 1997 before this year, but the team has rebounded nicely with a streak that hadn’t been seen since 1995. That season, the Pirates also started 0-2, with losses against national powers Maryland and North Carolina, before rolling out an eight-game win streak. This year’s Pirates will look to equal that mark, but improve upon the 95 squad’s final 10-7-2 mark.
RAUS PUTS HIS BEST FOOT FORWARD: Senior John Raus has picked up in 2006 where he ended last season. Although he was kept off the board against Syracuse, Raus still leads SHU with 10 points (3 G, 4 A). Prior to the SU game, he had fired home the game-winning goal in three straight games and led SHU to a big win over St. John’s with a one goal-two assist effort. His four assists (0.67 apg) currently has him ranked 23rd nationally. He is coming off a career year as a junior, when he had 10 goals and six assists.
GIUSFREDI RECOGNIZED BY THE BIG EAST: Sophomore Eliseo Giusfredi scored a goal in each of SHU’s BIG EAST wins last week and was named to the BIG EAST’s Weekly Honor Roll on Sept. 11. He has rebounded from a frustrating start against Virginia Commonwealth on Aug. 27 when his nine-shot effort failed to yield a score in a 2-0 loss. Since then Giusfredi has scored in each of the last three games, including a two-goal effort against Monmouth. He currently ranks second on the team with eight points and is second in the league with four goals.
Friday, Sept. 15 -- 7:00 p.m.
Seton Hall (4-2-0, 2-0-0 BIG EAST) at Rutgers (1-4-0, 0-2-0 BIG EAST)
Yurcak Field; Piscataway, N.J.
Radio: 89.5 FM WSOU
Webcast: - -
Livestats: - -
All-Time Series History vs. Rutgers RU leads 14-34-5
Last Meeting Sept. 23, 2005: SHU, 2-1
Rutgers Notes The Scarlet Knights will be looking for their first conference win of the season after being picked fourth in the BIG EAST Red Division Preseason Poll... RU has dominated the Pirates at Yurcak Field, going 6-0-1 in the series dating back to 1993... Seton Hall rallied to defeat Rutgers last year, with two goals in the last 10 minutes... RU ranks 16th in the league, scoring 0.57 goals per game... Chris Moore leads the team with a goal and assist... Matt Van Oekel has played every minute in goal and has a 1.34 GAA with 16 saves.
Sunday, Sept. 17 -- 1:00 p.m.
Seton Hall (4-2-0, 2-0-0 BIG EAST) at Villanova (3-3-1, 0-2-0 BIG EAST)
Villanova Soccer Stadium; Villanova, Pa.
Radio: - -
Webcast: - -
Livestats: - -
All-Time Series History vs. Villanova SHU leads 13-3-3
Last Meeting Sept. 25, 2005: VU, 1-0 (ot)
Villanova Notes Since opening the year 3-1, Villanova has gone winless in its last four, including losing three straight... Last year’s VU win at SHU snapped the Pirates’ 17-game regular season unbeaten streak at Owen T. Carroll Field... The Wildcats rank sixth in the BIG EAST in scoring at 1.43 goals per game... Freshman Michael Seamon is tied for third in the league in assists with three... Farris Fakhoury and Victor Faustino each have tallied two goals... After allowing just two goals in the first three games, opponents have tallied eight in the last three games... Jason Freil has started seven games in goal, making 38 saves, which tops the BIG EAST.
