The Emory University men's soccer team will play its final home game and non-conference game of 2012 regular season on Friday night, as the Eagles will play host to Covenant College.  The contest is slated for a 7:00 PM start at the Woodruff Physical Education Center.

Coverage
Fans can follow Friday's game with both live statistics (http://www.go.emory.edu/LiveStats/MSocc/XLIVE.HTM) and a live video webcast (http://go.emory.edu/Webcasts/MSoccWebcast.html).  In order to watch the webcast, you will need to have RealPlayer installed on your computer, which can be downloaded for free from real.com.

UAA Update
With a 2-1-1 record in conference play, the Eagles are currently in a four-way tie for first place in the University Athletic Association (UAA), along with eighth-ranked Carnegie Mellon, 18^th-ranked Brandeis and New York University.  Following the top-four teams in the standings are Rochester (1-0-3), Washington U. (2-2-0), Chicago (1-2-1) and Case Western Reserve (0-4-0). 

With all of the conference's teams on a break from league play this week, all of the UAA squads will be playing in non-conference action.  When UAA play resumes, Emory will have its UAA Championship and NCAA Tournament destiny firmly in its own hands, as the Eagles will play on the road against the other three first-place teams over the final two weekends of the season.

Emory Eagles
The Eagles have played some of their best soccer of the season over the last few weeks, going 5-1-1 over their last seven games to improve to 7-5-2 overall in 2012.  Emory has also played well at home throughout the campaign, going 4-2-2 in games at the Woodruff P.E. Center.  The team is averaging 2.43 goals per game this season, the 61^st-best mark in Division III, and ranks 57^th among D-III teams with 34 goals and 32^nd with 30 assists.  Emory's offense has been led by the combination of senior co-captain Andrew Natalino (11 goals and one assist) and sophomore Dylan Price (10 goals and three assists), in addition to junior Andrew Jones (three goals and five assist) and senior co-captain David Garofalo (a team-leading six assists).  Defensively, the Eagles have limited opponents to 18 goals this season, good for a team goals-against average of 1.22, due in large part to the efforts of center backs in senior Alex Scott and sophomore Noah Rosen.  Freshman goalkeeper Abe Hannigan has started the last eight games for the Eagles, going 5-2-1 with a 1.06 GAA and a .679 save percentage.  Emory has outshot its opponents 262-137 this season, while holding advantages of 112-69 in shots on goal, and 99-46 in corner kicks.

The Eagles are led by head coach Sonny Travis, who is 75-25-7 during his five seasons at Emory, including three NCAA Tournament berths and a UAA Championship.  His career 369-117-44 record ranks him 14^th among active Division III coaches in victories, and his .738 winning percentage is the 10th-best among active D-III coaches.  Travis will be joined by fourth-year assistant Ben Buerger, second-year goalkeeper coach Clayton Schmitt, and student assistant Dehmeh Smith.

Covenant Scots
Covenant stands at 7-7-1 this season, but has struggled away from home with a 2-4-1 record in road and neutral games.  The Scots are coming off of a 3-2 overtime loss to Georgia Gwinnett College last Saturday.  Covenant has outscored its opponents this season 24-20, and has been led offensively by Garrison Dale and Matt Hudnut, who each have five goals and two assists for 12 points.  Defensively, the team has a 1.28 goals-against average, as junior Shuster Polk has made all 15 starts in goal, recording an .800 save percentage.  The Scots own slight edges in both shots (235-224) and shots on goal (103-100) over their opponents in 2012.

Covenant is coached by Nathan Pifer, who has gone 42-32-5 during his four years with the team.  He is assisted by Drew Courtney, Scott Bosgraf and Austin Branson.

Emory is 7-1-7 all-time against Covenant College, in a series that dates back to the 1973 season.  After the annual games between the two teams were discontinued after the 1983 season, Emory and Covenant resumed play in 2008, with the Eagles going 4-0-0 against the Scots ever since, including a pair of wins at the Woodruff P.E. Center.  Last season in Lookout Mountain, GA, the Eagles came away with a 1-0 double overtime win, as Price scored the 'golden goal' for the Eagles in the 107^th minute on an assist from Jeffrey Cochran.  In the game, Emory  outshot Covenant 21-12, including an 11-3 edge in shots on goal. 

Emory Notes
Emory's Andrew Natalino ranks 34^th in Division III with 11 goals and 49^th with .79 goals per game, while Dylan Price is 59^th with 10 goals, and 75^th with .71 goals per game… Natalino and Price are both tied for 64^th in Division III in total points (23) and 87^th in points per game (1.64)… The Emory duo are each tied for second in the UAA for points, while Natalino is first in the UAA in goals, and Price is third in the category… David Garofalo is 45^th in D-III with 0.5 assists per game and 58^th with six assists… Abe Hannigan is 100^th among D-III goalkeepers with a 1.056 goals-against average... Emory's defense has allowed less than 10 total shots in eight of its 14 games this season, while the Eagles' offense has taken no less than 12 shots in a game in 2012… Emory has also allowed five or fewer shots on goal in each of its last seven games, and has not allowed double-digit shots on goal to an opponent in its last 20 games, dating back to the 2011 season… The Eagles have outscored their opponents 22-7 over their last seven games, scoring four or more goals four times during the stretch.