The Emory University Men's Soccer Team will face a pair of road tests this weekend, when the Eagles resume University Athletic Association (UAA) play at the 14th-ranked University of Rochester on Friday, November 1st at 5:00 PM and Case Western Reserve University on Sunday, November 3rd at 11:00 AM. This weekend's games will be the final road contests of the Eagles' 2013 regular season.
Coverage
For Friday's game at Rochester, fans can follow the action with live statistics at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rochester/msoc/. In addition, there will be a video webcast, available for purchase for $6.95. The game webcast can be accessed at http://www.uofrathletics.com/showcase/.
On Sunday, Case will be providing live statistics at http://livestats.prestosports.com/casewesternreserve/ and a video webcast at http://athletics.case.edu/sports/msoc/live, both for free.
UAA Update
With just three games remaining in the 2013 University Athletic Association (UAA) schedule, Emory has a one-point lead in the conference standings with a 3-0-1 mark in UAA games. Friday's game will pit the Eagles against second-place Rochester, which is currently tied in the UAA standings with #12 Carnegie Mellon with a 3-1-0 record. Following the top-three teams in the conference standings are Chicago (2-2-0), Washington (Mo.) and Case Western Reserve (1-2-1), Brandeis (1-3-0) and New York University (0-3-1).
Other games on Friday include Chicago at NYU (11:00 AM), Washington at Brandeis (4:00 PM) and Carnegie Mellon at Case Western Reserve (5:00 PM). On Sunday, all four games will be at 11:00 AM, with Rochester hosting Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis hosting Chicago, and NYU welcoming in Washington.
Emory Eagles
The Emory men will be looking to rebound from a 2-1 loss at Covenant College in a non-conference matchup last Wednesday that sent the Eagles' season ledger to 10-4-1, including a 4-2-0 mark in road games. The team has outscored its opponents 33-16 overall this season, including an 8-2 advantage in conference games. Emory will begin the week ranked 86th among Division III teams with 2.2 goals per game, led by junior co-captain Dylan Price's 10 goals and four assists. The Eagles are also 120th among the 408 ranked D-III squads with a 1.05 goals-against average, and have held opposing teams to 10.6 shots and 4.3 shots on goal per game. Emory was ranked sixth in the latest NSCAA South Atlantic Region poll.
The Eagles are led by seventh-year head coach Sonny Travis, who has guided the squad to a record of 89-31-8, two UAA Championships and four trips to the NCAA Tournament during his time with the team. For his 28-year coaching career, he holds an overall record of 383-123-45, the 18th-most victories among Division III coaches all-time. Travis is assisted by Cory Greiner, goalkeeper coach Clayton Schmitt and volunteer assistant Wesley Lutz.
Rochester Yellowjackets
Rochester will begin the week ranked 14th in the latest NSCAA Division III poll and 15th in the D3Soccer.com rankings, in addition to checking in at second in the NSCAA East Region rankings. The team stands at 11-2-1 overall this season, and has lost just once in its last 11 games, a 2-1 defeat at Chicago on October 18th, going 9-1-1 during the stretch. The Yellowjackets are a perfect 7-0-0 at home this season. Outscoring its opponents by a 45-10 margin this year, Rochester began the week ranked 12th among Division III teams with 3.21 goals per game and 37th with a 0.70 goals against average. Freshman Jeff Greblick (seven goals and seven assists) and junior Alex Swanger (eight goals and three assists) have paced the team offensively, while goalkeeper senior Mike Moranz has started all 14 games for Rochester, recording a 0.79 goals-against average and a .767 save percentage.
Rochester is led by Chris Apple, who has a record of 182-71-36 during his 16 seasons as a head coach, including a 163-43-33 mark over his 13 years with the Yellowjackets. Apple is assisted by Kyle Schauls and Joe Baia.
Emory is undefeated in its last three meetings with Rochester, and stands at 14-9-3 overall against the Yellowjackets. The all-time series has been weighed heavily towards the home team, with the Eagles going 3-9-1 all-time in games played in Rochester.
Last season, the Eagles and the Yellowjackets played to a 1-1 double-overtime tie at the Woodruff Physical Education Center, with senior Andrew Jones scoring a game-tying goal in the 86th minute. Emory outshot Rochester 16-12 in the game, including a 7-5 edge in shots on goal. The last time the two teams played in Rochester, Emory came away with a 1-0 win behind an 11th-minute goal from former Eagle defender Alex Scott.
Case Western Reserve Spartans
The Spartans, who will host Carnegie Mellon on Friday night before hosting the Eagles on Sunday, will enter the weekend on a high note, after the squad ended a four-match winless streak with a 4-0 win at Chicago on Sunday, October 20th. Now 6-4-4 this season, including a 2-2-0 mark in home games, Case will begin the week ranked 163rd in Division III with 1.86 goals per game and 193rd with a 1.36 goals-against average. The team's offense, which has totaled 26 goals this season, has been led by sophomores Chris Cvecko (seven goals and six assists) and Matthew Zembas (six goals and two assists). Freshman goalkeepers Ari Lewis (1.47 GAA, .711 save %) and Frank Candau (1.11 GAA, .700 save %) have split time for a defense that has conceded 20 goals during the campaign.
Case Western Reserve is led by Head Coach Brandon Bianco, who is in his first season with the Spartans, after serving as an assistant coach on the Ohio Wesleyan staff for the previous five years. Bianco is assisted by Chris Black and Alan Naigeon.
Emory is 23-2-1 all-time against Case, including a record of 10-1-1 in games contested in Cleveland. Last season, the Eagles defeated the Spartans 5-2 in Atlanta, with two former Eagles – Scott and Andrew Natalino – scoring a pair of goals each, and Price adding on a goal and an assist. The last time the teams met in Cleveland, Emory suffered a 6-5 double-overtime loss to Case, with the Spartans tying the game on a free kick from 45 yards out with five seconds left in regulation, and winning on a goal in the 102nd minute. Price has two goals and an assist during his two career games against the Spartans, while Jones has recorded a career goal against Case as well.
Emory Notes
The Eagles are 2-0-1 against nationally-ranked teams this season, with wins over #12 Brandeis and #23 Chicago, and a tie against #15 Washington (Mo.)… Emory is undefeated in its last six UAA games dating back to last season, going 5-0-1 during the stretch… It marks the longest active undefeated streak in the conference… The Eagles went 3-1-1 during October for a .700 winning percentage, the team's highest winning percentage during the month since the 2010 squad went 5-1-2 in October for a 0.75 winning percentage… Dylan Price is ranked 75th among D-III players with 1.6 points per game, 81st with 0.67 goals per game, 86th with 10 goals and 88th with 24 points… He leads all UAA players with four goals and nine points in conference games… Junior Jeffrey Cochran ranks 33rd among D-III players with 0.5 assists per game and 52nd with seven total assists… He is also tied for first in the conference with three assists in UAA play… Sophomore Abe Hannigan is 125th among Division III goalkeepers with a 1.062 GAA… His 0.47 goals-against average and .895 save percentage in UAA games are both conference bests.