Aug. 29, 2002

The Matchup: Stony Brook opens its 2002 season against the University of San Diego on Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. at the UC-Irvine/Hilton College Classic. The Toreros, ranked No. 24 in the preseason NSCAA/adidas national poll, were 12-4-1 last season. On Monday, the Seawolves will take on host UC-Irvine at 2 p.m. The Anteaters finished 2001 with a 10-4-6 record.

Series History: The Seawolves have never played either San Diego or UC-Irvine.

For Starters: Stony Brook has won its last three season openers, including last year's 2-1 victory over the New York Institute of Technology at University Field. In 2000, the Seawolves opened the year with a 1-0 victory over Boston College on the road, the first of five straight shutouts. Prior to that win, Stony Brook was winless in the first game of the year for five straight seasons.

Youth of the Nation: With just eight returning lettermen and two seniors (Olubode Banjoko and Ivan Perez), the young Seawolves have a tough task to begin 2002, facing a veteran team in San Diego. Eight of Stony Brook's 17 newcomers this fall are true freshmen; the other nine have 1-2 years of collegiate experience already under their belts.

Scouting the Toreros: San Diego returns nine starters from the team that advanced to the second round of the 2001 College Cup and finished No. 22 in the nation. The Toreros return all of their top scorers, including senior forward Ryan Coiner (12 goals, 3 assists) and junior midfielder Eric Wunderle (5 goals, 2 assists). However, San Diego will have a new look in the goal with the loss of keeper Justin Neerhof, who played all 1560 minutes between the posts last year and was an NSCAA First Team All-Far West Region selection. Seniors Parker Jarvis and Matt Kessler split time in goal in USD's 6-0 exhibition win over Vanguard University last week.

Scouting the Anteaters: Host UC-Irvine returns half of its starters from 2001, when the Anteaters were 10-4-6. Like Stony Brook, UC-Irvine will be young this fall with 11 newcomers. Senior midfielder Scott Bowman, second on the team last year with six goals and four assists, returns as the Anteaters' top scorer, while sophomore midfielder Dardo Acuna, third with five goals and an assist in 2001, also returns. Sophomore Cameron Rossi, who split time with C.J. Cooper in the goal last season, allowed just seven goals in 990:00 (0.64 GAA) in 2001.

Back in Action: Sophomore forward Shane Arikian will see his first action in nearly a year this weekend after sitting out last season with a dislocated foot. Arikian, the Seawolves' leading scorer as a freshman, went down in the final seconds of just the second game of the year in 2001. Junior goalkeeper Dan Ferrin also returns to the field after missing the final two games last year due to injury. Ferrin was 6-5-2 last year with three shutouts, posting a GAA of 1.70 in nearly 1216:45.

Champions Reunited: Six of the Seawolves' newcomers this year will already be familiar with each other, as well as junior Shane Arikian; they played with each other on the U-19 West Babylon Panthers club team that won the national title in 2000. Josh Allen, Arikian, Anthony Barbiero, Chris Doyle, Chong Han, Jose Sura and Rob Yturraspe were all members of that Panthers team.

Seawolves Ranked Fifth in America East Preseason Poll: Stony Brook was selected fifth in the America East preseason poll, according to votes by the conference's head coaches. Boston University, which captured the regular season crown last season, was selected to repeat as conference champions, while the University of Hartford, which received two first-place votes, was picked second. Northeastern University, which advanced to the America East Championship game last season, was selected third, while the University of New Hampshire was placed fourth. A total of just four points separated UNH from fifth-place Stony Brook. The University at Albany, the University of Vermont, Binghamton University and the University of Maine rounded out the poll.

Looking Ahead: Stony Brook takes on Holy Cross next weekend on Sat., Sept. 7, in the Seawolves' home opener. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.