Men's Soccer Battles Monmouth and Delaware
9/5/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sep 5, 2013
SETTING THE STAGE
- Seton Hall opens the week with its first road game of the season as it heads down to West Long Branch, N.J., to face the Monmouth Hawks. The Pirates return home to host Delaware on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
- Seton Hall snapped a three-match losing streak to Monmouth with a 1-0 win over the No. 14 ranked Hawks last season in South Orange.
- The Pirates visited Delaware last season in what was just the second meeting between the two programs since 1941, a game Seton Hall won, 2-1.
- SHU's six goals through two games are the most since the 2008 season.
SPECTACULAR DEBUT
Freshman midfielder Samuel Geiler made a huge first impression for Seton Hall, scoring the first goal of his career in his collegiate debut against Rhode Island on Aug. 30 and following that up with a two-goal performances in a 3-3 tie with Drexel on Sept. 1. For his effort Geiler was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and the BigAppleSoccer.com Men's College Player of the Week. He is the first pirate to earn BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors since Samuel Petrone received the accolade on Sept. 8, 2008.
KONRAD DOUBLES UP
Junior midfielder Konrad Plewa posted the best offensive game of his career when he score twice in Seton Hall's 3-0 season-opening win over Rhode Island on Aug. 30. The goals were the first two of Plewa's career, who entered the game with five-career points after posting a team-high five assists in 2012.
SEASON OPENING SUCCESS
Seton Hall's 3-0 win over Rhode Island in the season opener on Aug. 30, was the Pirates' first win in a season debut since a 1-0 overtime victory over Monmouth in 2008. The three goals represented the most for Seton Hall in a season opener since the Pirates defeated Adelphi, 3-0, on Sept. 1, 2004.
HELP WANTED
The Pirates found a fair amount of offensive success in the first week of the season, scoring six goals, the but the team also recorded seven assists on those six scores after being credited with just 13 assists through all of the 2012 season. Of those seven assists, four came from players who also recorded their first helper in a Seton Hall uniform in senior John Gurel, juniors Bolu Akinyode and Alex Megna, and sophomore Eric Lagg.
LONG TIME COMING
Playmaking midfielder Victor Manosalvas returned to the pitch for Seton Hall in the season opener against Rhode Island after missing all of the 2012 season due to injury. He made an immediate impact for the Pirates, registering an assist on the second goal of the game. It was the third assist of his career and his first since his rookie season in 2010.
A FIRST FOR ECHEVERRY
When Seton Hall and Drexel played to a 3-3 tie on Sept. 1, it was the first tie for the Pirates since playing No. 1 Maryland to a scoreless draw on Sept. 20, 2011, making it the first game to end in a tie in second-year head coach Gerson Echeverry's career.
HALL OF A MATCHUP
Two of the greatest players to ever wear a Seton Hall uniform will stare one another down on the sidelines when the Pirates face Delaware on Tuesday night. Blue Hen head coach Ian Hennessy `90 and SHU head coach Gerson Echeverry `94 are both members of the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame, with Hennessy being inducted in 2006 and Echeverry joining him just past June. Hennessy was an All-American at Seton Hall, and ranks second in program history in points (134) and goals scored (52) while Echeverry is fourth in points (114) and sixth in goals scored (41) and third in assists (32).
