Men's Soccer Begins BIG EAST Play on the Road
9/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SETON HALL vs. LOUISVILLE
Seton Hall and Louisville meet for the first time ever as the two schools kick off BIG EAST play. The Cardinals play in the conference’s Red Division, while the Pirates are in the Blue Division.
Louisville is 3-2-0 with wins over Oral Roberts, Kentucky, and Marshall. The Cardinals are coming off a 1-0 loss to #1 Wake Forest on Sep. 15.
Senior F Marco Terminesi leads the team with six points. He and junior M/F Aaron Clapham share team-high honors with two goals each.
Sophomore GK David Simolike has played every minute in net for the Cardinals. He boasts a 1.00 GAA to go along with 10 saves.
SETON HALL vs. CINCINNATI
Seton Hall and Cincinnati take the field for the first time ever as opponents in each school’s second BIG EAST match of the season.
The Bearcats are 1-4-0 after dropping a 1-0 decision to Bradley on Sep. 16. Cincinanti’s lone win came in a 4-0 defeat of Xavier.
Cincinnati will host Georgetown in its BIG EAST opener at Gettler Stadium on Friday.
Senior forward Kenny Anaba leads the Bearcats with four goals and eight points. Junior forward Scott Stockum has two goals and two assists for six points. Freshman GK Miguel Rosales has been the primary netminder, posting a 1.00 GAA in four starts.
GOAL OF THE YEAR?
Junior Eliseo Giusfredi accounted for what may well be the goal of the year in all of collegiate soccer in the Seton Hall-Princeton game. Following a Tiger score that evened the match at 3-3, the ball was put in play at midfield to Giusfredi, who launched a shot from nearly 60 yards out that found the top left corner of the net. The Pirates would go on to victory in front of a frenzied crowd at Owen T. Carroll Field. Only five seconds elapsed in between goals, tying it for the second fastest pair of goals by opponents in NCAA Division I history.
McGRATH TALLIES TWO
Senior midfielder Justin McGrath turned in the second two-goal game of his career in the win over Princeton. Against the Tigers, he struck in the 59th and 66th minutes to push the Pirates to a 3-1 advantage. McGrath’s first two-goal game came on Oct. 13, 2005 in a 3-1 win over West Virginia.
A QUICK RECOVERY
SHU righted the ship quickly against Princeton after suffering its first three-game losing streak since 1999. The Pirates’ 4-3 win prevented an extension of the back-to-back scoreless game stretch that was the program’s first since 2004.
GIUSFREDI LIVING UP TO HYPE
Junior Eliseo Giusfredi has shown why he was a Preseason All-BIG EAST pick in the early going. He is second in the conference in points with nine and goals with four, while standing third in points per game with 2.25.
NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through Sep. 16, Seton Hall was 40th in the country in scoring offense with a 1.8 goals per game average. Junior Eliseo Giusfredi was 18th in the nation with a 0.8 goals per game average and 25th nationally with 1.8 points per game. Junior Christian Vercollone and freshman Brayan Martinez were tied for 38th in the country with 0.5 assists per game.
HALL DROPS TWO AT MAYOR’S CUP TOURNAMENT
The Pirates suffered their first two losses of the season at the Mayor’s Cup Tournament in Oneonta, N.Y. In a match up against the fourth-ranked team in the Northeast, Syracuse, Seton Hall was unable to hold onto an early 1-0 lead and took a 2-1 loss. Junior Eliseo Giusfredi was responsible for the lone SHU goal on a shot 39 seconds into the game. In the team’s tournament finale against Hartwick, the Pirates were shutout, 3-0.
PIRATES RANKED NINTH IN NORTHEAST
Seton Hall came in at No. 9 in the first NSCAA/adidas Northeast Region Poll of the season released on Sep. 4. Six BIG EAST schools were represented in the Top 10: No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 West Virginia, No. 4 Syracuse, No. 6 South Florida, No. 8 Seton Hall, and No. 9 St. John’s.
RECEIVING VOTES
The Pirates picked up nine votes in the Soccertimes.com Coaches Poll released on Sep. 4, tying them for 37th in the nation with Gonzaga.
SHU POUNDS PENN TO MOVE TO 2-0
The Pirates picked up their second win of the season on Sep. 3 with a 6-2 demolition of Penn. Junior Eliseo Giusfredi and freshman Andrew Welker each notched a pair of goals, while senior Jon Lewandowski and freshman Dritan Sela had one each. Junior Christian Vercollone picked up two assists. The six goals scored by SHU was its highest total since a seven goal outburst at Pittsburgh on October 15, 2005.
MARTINEZ NAMED BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Brayan Martinez was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week after picking up two assists in Seton Hall’s season opening win over Stony Brook on Aug. 31. Martinez, a midfielder, enjoyed a strong collegiate debut. In the 57th minute, he fed senior Justin McGrath from in front of the goal for the first Pirate score of the season. Later, his chip pass off a direct free-kick perfectly set up junior Eliseo Giusfredi for an easy goal to make it 2-0.
SEASON OPENER A SHUTOUT OVER STONY BROOK
SHU began the season in style with a 2-0 shutout of Stony Brook at Owen T. Carroll Field. Both Pirate goals came in the second half off assists from freshman Brayan Martinez. Senior Justin McGrath and junior Eliseo Giusfredi picked up the scores while sophomore goalkeeper Paul McHenry posted his second career shutout victory.
YOUTH IS SERVED
With 12 freshmen on the 25-man roster of Seton Hall, head coach Manny Schellscheidt has not been afraid to play the youngsters thus far. Seven rookies started each of the first two games: Kurt Cameron, Spencer Lawrence, Bryan Longo, Brayan Martinez, Hayden Morris, Steven Rose, and Andrew Welker.
GIUSFREDI NAMED ALL-BIG EAST
Junior forward Eliseo Giusfredi was named to the 2007 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by the conference’s coaches. Giusfredi was a member of the 2006 All-BIG East Team after finishing the season with nine goals and four assists, including seven goals and three assists in league play.
MARTINEZ REIGNING GATORADE POTY
Freshman Brayan Martinez enters Seton Hall as likely the most heralded recruit in Pirate history. He was named the Gatorade Boys National High School Player of the Year as a senior at West Orange High School in New Jersey and is a two-time NSCAA/adidas High School All-American.
RECRUITING CLASS RANKED 18TH
Manny Schellscheidt’s 12-man freshman class was ranked 18th nationally by College Soccer News. A pair of All-Americans highlight the group: Brayan Martinez, a two-time selection as well as the Gatorade Boys National High School Player of the Year, and Hayden Morris.
