The Emory Men's Soccer team begins the final stretch of the 2017 regular season this weekend with pair of crucial University Athletic Association matchups on the road. First, the Eagles will square off against 23rd-ranked Carnegie Mellon University at 5:00 PM Friday evening before taking on the Spartans of Case Western Reserve at 11:00 AM on Sunday.
UAA Roundup
The Eagles begin the second-to-last UAA weekend in a four-way tie for first place, sitting at 3-1 with Brandeis, Rochester and Chicago. Carnegie Mellon is positioned one game back with a 2-2 conference mark.
In addition to Emory at CMU on Friday, Chicago ventures to NYU, Case Western Reserve hosts Rochester and WashU is on the road at Brandeis. Sunday's slate features Emory at CWRU, Carnegie Mellon hosting UR, Chicago at Brandeis and Washington at NYU.
NR/RV Emory University Eagles (11-4, 3-1 UAA)
The Eagles rebounded from two straight defeats to Brandeis and Oglethorpe with a 4-0 shutout over Berry College their last time out on Sunday and are currently receiving votes in this week's D3Soccer.com national rankings. The clean sheet was Emory's eighth of the season and fifth by freshman Cole Gallagher. Gallagher improved to 7-3 between the posts and now ranks 14th among Division III leaders with a 0.51 goals-against average and 29th in DIII with a 0.85 save percentage. Senior Jason McCartney, junior Aidan Datené and sophomore Keegan McCombie combined for the scoring in the win with McCartney tallying his fourth multi-goal game of the year and fifth of his career. He currently ranks second among UAA leaders in both goals (11) and points (24), both marks representing career-highs.
NR/23rd Carnegie Mellon University Tartans (10-3-1, 2-2 UAA)
The Tartans slipped to 23rd in this week's edition of D3Soccer.com's national rankings and carry a 10-3-1 record into play on Friday. Senior Jimmy Jameson and junior Zack Masciopinto have each netted a team-high seven goals on the year while junior Anthony Gulli has scored three times to go along with a team-leading five assists to headline the Carnegie Mellon offensive. CMU is fifth among UAA schools with a 0.90 goals-against average, allowing 13 goals in 14 games. Junior Alec Lam has made all 14 starts in goal for the Tartans, turning away 38 shots for a .745 save percentage.
Carnegie Mellon is coached by Brandon Bowman who is in the midst of his fourth season with the program. Bowman is 42-16-9 during his time with the Tartans and 221-62-40 across his 17-year coaching career.
Case Western Reserve University Spartans (5-8-2, 1-3 UAA)
The Spartans, with a 1-3 UAA mark, sit two games back with three games to go before Friday night's matchup against the Yellowjackets. CWRU, like Carnegie Mellon, has seen three players reach the 10-point scoring plateau in 2017, led by junior Alex Besl and sophomore Zachary Senft. Besl and Senft have each recorded 13 points on the campaign with Senft scoring five goals while Besl has dished out a team-leading five assists. Freshman Seldon Magruder comes into Friday as the team leader in goals, netting six on the year with one acting as a game-winner in CWRU's lone UAA win over NYU. The Spartans rank just ahead of NYU among UAA programs in goals-against average at 1.16, allowing 18 goals in 15 games. Senior goalkeeper Calvin Boyle has seen all but 65 minutes between the posts, compiling 77 saves for a .811 save percentage to go along with a 1.22 GAA.
Brandon Bianco is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Spartans, guiding the team to a 37-34-15 record.
All-Time Series
CMU and Emory have been evenly matched during their all-time series with the Tartans holding a small edge at 12-11-7 and have played to four consecutive ties.
The Eagles have won 26 of 30 meetings against the Spartans, leading the all-time series 26-3-1. Last season, the Eagles pulled out a 2-1 victory in double overtime.
Up Next
Emory hosts the University of Rochester next Saturday, November 4th, in the regular season finale. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 AM at the Woodruff PE Center.