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Syracuse University
Colgate
Orange Visits Colgate Monday
9/6/2009 2:29:45 PM | Men's Soccer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SU men's soccer team (1-1-0) will play its second game in three days on Monday, Sept. 7 when it travels to Colgate (1-1-0) for a Labor Day showdown at 7 p.m. at Van Doren Field. The Orange's is coming off a 2-1 victory against Cornell on Saturday in its home opener, while the Raiders are looking to rebound from a 1-0 overtime defeat versus Binghamton.
LAST TIME OUT: SYRACUSE VS. CORNELL - SEPT. 5
The Orange earned its first win of the 2009 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, defeating Cornell by the score of 2-1 in its home opener. Senior forward Hansen Woodruff scored both goals for the Orange, equalizing the match in the 27th minute, then scoring the eventual game-winner on a penalty kick in the 61st minute. The win marked the fifth straight season Syracuse won its home starter. A crowd of 1,418 was on hand, the second-largest gathering in the history of the SU Soccer Stadium. Redshirt freshman Ryan Jones made his collegiate debut in the contest and recorded three saves in the second half to earn the win.
SCORING MACHINE
Woodruff's two goals against the Big Red tied his single-game career high and he now has three of SU's four goals on the season for a total of six points. His two tallies has him within striking distance of the 10th place on Syracuse's career goals chart. Woodruff has 24 career goals, one shy of tying Jamie Shannon and Jeff Knittel who both scored 25.
SCOUTING COLGATE
The Raiders are off to a 1-1 start this season after posting a 1-0 home decision over Long Island on Sept. 1 and losing to Binghamton, 1-0, in overtime on Sept. 5. Against Long Island, junior Jeff Leach tallied the winner off an assist from Alex Weekes less than 12 minutes into the match.
Leach and Weekes are two of five returning Raiders that finished with at least 10 points last season and helped lead the Raiders to a 12-6-3 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Weekes led the squad with 21 points on eight goals and five assists. Leach finished with 10 points (two goals, six assists). Steven Miller (15 points), Chris Ross (12 points) and Matt Schuber (10 points) are also back in the fold for the Raiders. Defensively, Colgate registered a 0.73 goals-against average last season with 10 shutouts. Chris Miller, who earned a shutout against Long Island, takes over the starting goalkeeper spot from 2008 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year David Cappuccio. Miller played in three games and made two starts a season ago.
Head coach Erik Ronning is 39-24-16 heading into Monday's match. Colgate has qualified for the Patriot League Tournament in each of Ronning's first four seasons and they are the two-time defending conference champions.
SYRACUSE-COLGATE SERIES
Much like its rivalry with Cornell, the Syracuse-Colgate series dates back to the early days of the Orange soccer program with the two teams squaring off in 1920, the first season Syracuse fielded a varsity team. The Orange won that encounter 2-0 and began the series by going 7-0-2 in the first nine meetings. Colgate turned the tables in the 1950s, '60s and '70s and rivalry has been competitive ever since with the Orange holding a 3-1-2 lead in the six meetings since 2001.
