Sept. 28, 2010
Stony Brook Seawolves (5-4-1) at Iona Gaels (2-4-1)
Wednesday, Sept. 29 | Mazzella Field | New Rochelle, N.Y. | 3 p.m.
LIVE: STATS | VIDEO
Iona Gaels (2-4-1, 0-0-0 Metro Atlantic)
Head Coach: Fernando Barboto, eighth season
Career Record: n/a
Record at Iona: n/a
Stony Brook Seawolves (5-4-1, 0-0-0 America East)
Head Coach: Cesar Markovic, seventh season
Career Record: 149-123-32
Record at SBU: 53-56-20
The Matchup
Stony Brook wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule Wednesday with a contest against the Iona Gaels of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Seawolves are riding a five-match unbeaten streak as hope to keep the momentum going with conference play looming on Saturday. Despite the close proximity between these two clubs, this is just the second all-time matchup between Stony Brook and Iona. The Seawolves won the first meeting 2-0 on Sept. 5, 2006. The teams share one common opponent so far this season. SBU defeated Hofstra 1-0 while the Gaels lost to the Pride 2-1.
Scouting the Opponent
Iona comes into this match having lost two straight and hope to rebound before conference play begins at Niagara on Friday. The Gaels are trying to rebound from a disappointing end to their 2009 season. Iona had dominated the regular season, going 8-1 in the MAAC and earning the conference tournament's No. 1 seed, but the Gaels were upset by Niagara in the semifinals in penalty kicks. Iona was picked to finish second in the MAAC during the preseason, behind only Loyola.
Last Time Out
Down 2-0 in the first half, Stony Brook battled back to score three unanswered goals to knock off Quinnipiac 3-2 Sunday at LaValle Stadium. Raphael Abreu, Berian Gobeil Cruz and Leonardo Fernandes all scored for the Seawolves, with Fernandes putting in the game-winning goal in the 77th minute. Fernandes scored the goal using his heel from behind to put the ball in the net. The victory extended Stony Brook's unbeaten streak to five matches and kept the Bobcats winless (0-5-1) on the season.
Into the Rankings
Stony Brook has entered the NSCAA/hendrickcars.com Northeast Region Top 10 poll at No. 10, tied with fellow America East schools New Hampshire and Boston University. The Seawolves and Terriers will square off Saturday at LaValle Stadium.
Gobeil Cruz earns an accolade
Berian Gobeil Cruz was named BigAppleSoccer.com's Men's College Player of the Week after scoring a pair of goals to lead Stony Brook to a tie against Harvard and a win over Quinnipiac.
Fernandes Earns Multiple Honors
Leonardo Fernandes scored seven points the weekend of Sept. 17-19 and has been recognized for his efforts. He was named the America East Player of the Week and the SimplexGrinnell Stony Brook Athlete of the Week and was selected to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.
Four Goals A Plenty
Stony Brook had an offensive outburst against Central Connecticut State Sept. 17, beating the Blue Devils 4-2. The four goals were the most by a Stony Brook team since putting five on the board on Sept. 11, 2005.
Beating One of the Best
On Sept. 12, the Seawolves knocked off Dartmouth 1-0 on its home field in the Dartmouth Classic Tournament. Stony Brook got a goal from Berian Gobeil Cruz in the 34th minute and keeper Stefan Manz made four saves to preserve the shutout. The victory was big for SBU considering that Dartmouth was receiving votes in last week's NSCAA/hendrickcars.com National Rankings and was fourth in the Northeast Region poll.
Looking For Two Straight
Last season was a magical one for Stony Brook as the Seawolves finished the regular season with a five-match unbeaten streak to get into the America East Tournament, where they dispatched Hartford and UMBC to win the conference title, just the second in program history. This season's squad will look to replicate that success and bring the Seawolves back to the NCAA Tournament. Picked to finish second in America East, Stony Brook opens conference play next Saturday, Oct. 2, against Boston University at LaValle Stadium.
