Three Early Goals Propel Pirates to Season-Opening Win

Thursday, August 25

South Orange, N.J.

6:56 PM

Seton Hall University

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Rider

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Rider

Seton Hall

Three Early Goals Propel Pirates to Season-Opening Win

8/25/2022 10:15:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

South Orange, N.J. - The Pirates opened up the 2022 season with a bang, scoring three goals in the first half to take down Rider, 3-0, on Thursday night at Owen T. Carroll Field. Johannes Pex (Stephansposching, Germany), JP Marin (Briarwood, N.Y.) and Mattias Almeida Sundell (Sweden) each found the back of the net early on to guide the Pirates to the victory.

How it Happened
The Pirates came out of the gates fast, putting pressure on the back line of the Rider defense. After a foul which set up a free kick, Pex buried one in the top corner to give Seton Hall the early 1-0 advantage.

Less than six minutes later, a flurry of chances would result in the Pirates' second tally. Sundell had the ball on his left foot at the edge of the six-yard box, but had his shot saved by Rider goalkeeper Guillaume Veinante. Quenzi Huerman (Vannes, France) collected the rebound and forced Veinante to make another scrambling save. Off another rebound, Sundell was able to fire one past the keeper to double the Seton Hall lead.

In the 18^th minute, the Pirates kept the pressure on Veinante, as a shot from Marin had to be tended to by the Rider netminder. However, Marin would get his first goal of the season a few minutes later. Denis Kelmendi (Falkenberg, Sweden) played a ball to the edge of the penalty area for Liam Guske (St. John's, Fla.), who found Marin in the center of the box to put another one home and extend the lead to 3-0.

The Pirates were able to protect the lead throughout the second half, allowing just four total shots. Hannes Ronnholmen (Stockholm, Sweden) was forced to only make one save, as he got his fingertips to a shot from Rider's Marc Wharfe in the 68^th minute.

Goals
9' – Pex (Unassisted)
15' – Sundell (Huerman)
24' – Marin (Guske, Kelmendi)

Inside the Numbers

The Pirates outshot the Broncs 16-4, including a 10-1 advantage in shots on target
Of the Pirates' 16 shots, 12 of them came in the first half, and 11 of them came in the first 25 minutes of the match
Seton Hall put pressure on Rider's back line of defense, tallying seven corner kicks

News & Notes

The three-goal half for the Pirates was their first since accomplishing the same feat against Butler on Oct. 27, 2021
Head Coach Andreas Lindberg earns his 197^th career victory
Seton Hall remains unbeaten in season openers under Lindberg with a 3-0-2 record. In those matches, the Pirates are outscoring their opponents 14-4
The Pirates' 10 shots on goal are their most in a single match since Sep. 14, 2021 at Army, when they also had 10 shots on target
Sundell registered four shots on goal, setting a new career high

Up Next
Seton Hall begins a four-match road stretch on Monday, when it travels to Philadelphia to face Temple at 7 p.m.