Oct. 11, 2011
• 2011 Virtual Guide
Men's Soccer Gameday
Game #13: Stony Brook Seawolves (6-4-2) vs. Albany Great Danes (4-6-1)
Wed., Oct. 12 • LaValle Stadium • Stony Brook, N.Y. • 7 p.m.
LIVE: STATS | VIDEO
Stony Brook Seawolves (6-4-2, 2-0-0 America East)
Head Coach: Ryan Anatol, first season
Career Record: 6-4-2
Record at SBU: same
Albany Great Danes (4-6-1, 0-1-1 America East)
Head Coach: Trevor Gorman, first season
Career Record: 4-6-1
Record at Albany: same
The Scene: Stony Brook, unbeaten in conference play and winner of five of its last six matches, puts its hot streak on the line Wednesday in a home bout with rival Albany. The Seawolves have started America East play 2-0, a first in program history as the squad looks to build its America East Championship resume. The Great Danes come into the match having lost four of their last five, the fifth being a tie, meaning they have not won a match in over three weeks. This is the 38th all-time meeting between these two teams, and that makes Albany Stony Brook’s most faced opponent, surpassing the 37 matches Stony Brook played against Southampton. Albany leads the series 21-13-3, but the Seawolves are unbeaten against the Great Danes in the last four meetings (3-0-1) and are 5-1-1 against them in the last seven matches.
Last Time Out: The Seawolves went to 2-0 in the league after a comeback win over Vermont, 3-2. Stony Brook went out in front 1-0 on Berian Gobeil Cruz’s first goal of the night, but the team then fell behind Vermont 2-1. Gobeil Cruz then assisted on Leonardo Fernandes’ goal late in the first half to tie. Gobeil Cruz then put the Seawolves on top for good late in the second half with his second goal of the night. Stony Brook outshot Vermont 21-10 and allowed zero shots on goal in the second half as the team locked down on defense. The win was Stony Brook’s fourth comeback victory of the season.
Scouting Albany: The Great Danes enter tonight’s match winless over their last five games, the last victory coming on Sept. 18 against Central Connecticut State. During a four-match winning streak, Albany was averaging 2.75 goals per game, but during this winless stretch, the team has scored only three goals (0.6/g). Albany is in its first season under head coach Trevor Gorman, and after finshing last season eighth in the league, the team was once again picked to finish eighth. Albany does have some firepower on the team, as Quintel Gates is one of the league’s leading scorers with five goals and three assists for 13 points.
Gobeil Earns Some Honors: Berian Gobeil Cruz had a five-point night vs. Vermont and that earned him College Soccer News National Team of the Week and America East Player of the Week honors.
Entering the Record Books: With their goals in the Vermont win, juniors Leonardo Fernandes and Berian Gobeil Cruz each have tallied their 17th career goal, tying them with Wilson Pun (1991-94) for 10th all-time in program history. Aaron George (1969-72) holds the all-time Stony Brook record with 36 goals, but Fernandes and Gobeil Cruz are already the program’s top Div. I all-time goal scorers.
Offensive Explosion: Stony Brook has now scored 14 goals over its last six matches, compared to scoring only four goals over its first six matches of the season.
Schlesinger Makes Them Count: Junior Kyle Schlesinger has two goals and an assist and they have all been important this season. His first goal was the game-winner at High Point. He then won the game at Temple with a goal in the final six minutes of regulation. His assist on Berian Gobeil Cruz’s goal at UNH last Friday helped secure the game-winner as well.
On the Road: With the win at New Hampshire, Stony Brook is now 4-0-2 over its last six America East Conference road matches, dating back to Oct. 24, 2009. The Seawolves will play at Boston University Oct. 15 and at UMBC Oct. 26.
The Comeback Kids: Stony Brook has four comeback victories this season, which already surpasses the team's total comeback wins from 2010. The comeback from a two-goal deficit at Temple on Sept. 25 matches a two-goal comeback Stony Brook had against Quinnipiac on Sept. 26, 2010, nearly a year to the day of the two events.
Player of the Week Honors: Junior Leonardo Fernandes was named the America East Player of the Week and the ECAC Player of the Week for his five-point effort in three matches the week of Sept. 19-25. Fernandes assisted on a goal in SBU's 4-1 win over Fairfield and then provided two goals in Stony Brook's comeback win at Temple, including the game-tying goal.
Four Times the Charm: After scoring four goals on Sept. 20 vs. Fairfield and again on Sept. 25 at Temple, the Seawolves have now reached four goals in a game in each of the last two seasons. SBU defeated Central Connecticut State 4-2 during the 2010 season.
The High Point of the Weekend: The Seawolves topped High Point 3-1 on Sept. 9 on the strength of goals by juniors Raphael Abreu, Kyle Schlesinger and Leonardo Fernandes. The win helped Stony Brook finish second at the four-team Flash Gordon Invitational, hosted by High Point University. The victory was the first in the career of head coach Ryan Anatol.
First Goal: Senior Steven Medwinter notched both the team's first goal of 2011 and his first career goal in a Stony Brook uniform. The goal came in the second half against Duquesne on Sept. 4 and helped the Seawolves to a 1-1 tie.
Main Manz: With a 1-0 win against New Hampshire, junior goalkeeper Stefan Manz recorded his 11th career shutout. He had eight during the 2010 season.
Preseason Poll: The Seawolves were picked to finish fourth in the America East preseason poll, according to the league's eight head coaches. Stony Brook is behind defending champion UMBC, Boston University and New Hampshire.
Strong Incumbents: Stony Brook returns 18 letterwinners from last season's team that finish 10-7-3 and advanced to the America East Championship semifinals. Among the returnees are America East Midfielder of the Year Leonardo Fernandes and second-team All-America East forward Raphael Abreu. The team returns 92 percent of its goal scoring offense, and Fernandes, Abreu and Berian Gobeil Cruz combined to score 19 goals.
Going for the Title: The Seawolves previously have captured two America East Championships, winning titles in 2005 and 2009. The team will look to win its third championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament, where it previously has won with a 2005 victory over Yale.
