Syracuse University
Rutgers
SU Hosts Rutgers On Senior Night
10/22/2010 9:49:04 AM | Men's Soccer
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange (2-7-5, 0-3-3) is back home to face Rutgers (3-9-1, 0-6-0) Saturday, Oct. 23 in a critical BIG EAST Red Division contest. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at the SU Soccer Stadium and admission is free. Live video of the contest is available on SUathletics.com via Orange All Access.
Syracuse has been on the road for the last two weeks and finds itself clinging to the division's final spot in the conference tournament with three games left. St. John's, Syracuse, DePaul and Rutgers are fighting for the final two postseason berths. Louisville, Villanova, Cincinnati and USF have already clinched bids.
Saturday is also Senior Night at the SU Soccer Stadium as the program will recognize the contributions of Justin Arena, Daniel McGowan, Geoff Lytle, Manny Sevillano and Jeremy Vuolo prior to the match.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Mark Brode tallied the Orange's first goal of conference play at Villanova on Oct. 20, but the Wildcats emerged with a 2-1 decision in double overtime. Brode's goal was his third of the season and tied the match 1-1 late in the first half. That's how the score remained until 2:50 into the second extra session when Kyle McCarthy notched the winner for the Wildcats off a rebound.
Sophomore Konrad Andersson recorded his first point of the season for the Orange, assisting on Brode's goal. Vuolo finished with eight saves in a losing effort, one short of his career high.
RECOGNIZING THE SENIOR CLASS
Prior to Saturday's game, Syracuse will honor Arena, McGowan, Vuolo, Lytle and Sevillano in a short ceremony at midfield.
Arena has played in 61 total matches since 2007 with 33 starts. He has nine points from his outside back position, including two goals. Over the course of his career, Arena has contributed to 17 Orange shutouts. McGowan joined Syracuse for the 2009 season and has played 17 games the last two years. He has been part of three of the Orange's shutouts this season. Vuolo has started 12-of-14 matches this year after transferring from Hartwick. Vuolo has three shutouts and ranks second in the BIG EAST with 66 saves.
Lytle is the Orange's most experienced midfielder with 52 career games played. He leads the Orange with two assists this season and has seven assists in his SU tenure. Sevillano has participated in 28 career games with 15 starts. He was a member of SU's starting group versus Canisius and USF earlier this season. For his career, Sevillano has two assists. Both came during the 2009 season.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers is 3-9-1 overall and 0-6-0 in conference play. After winning three straight games, the Scarlet Knights have lost their last eight dating back to Sept. 24, including a 1-0 decision to St. John's on Oct. 20 in its most recent contest.
Yannick Salmon is the team's top scorer. He has four of Rutgers' nine goals on the season and leads the club with eight points. Sam Archer is Rutgers' other multi-goal scorer with two tallies on the year. Robbie McLarney has a pair of assists to lead the Scarlet Knights in that category. Goalkeepers Adam Klink and Kevin McMullen have combined for 52 saves. Klink has played the majority of the minutes. He has 41 saves and two shutouts. McMullen has seen action in three games. He has stopped 11 shots.
Head coach Dan Donigan is in his first year at the Rutgers helm. Donigan took over the program in January 2010 following in the footsteps of Bob Reasso. Donigan came to Piscataway after nine successful seasons at St. Louis where he led the Bilikens to seven NCAA appearances and four conference tournament championships.
THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS
Rutgers leads the series between the two teams, 8-7-1. The Scarlet Knights joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995 and the two teams have met at least once every year since. Syracuse won three consecutive matches from 2000-02 and owns a 5-4-1 advantage in the last 10 pairings. The Orange shut out the Scarlet Knights, 3-0, at Yurcak Field last season to record its only clean sheet of 2009.
