Sept. 13, 2012
2012 Stony Brook Men's Soccer
Game #6: Stony Brook Seawolves (3-2-0) vs. Fordham Rams (3-2-0)
Fri., Sept. 14 • LaValle Stadium • Stony Brook, N.Y. • 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY LIVE: STATS | VIDEO
Game #7: Stony Brook Seawolves (3-2-0) vs. Buffalo Bulls (1-4-1)
Sun., Sept. 16 • LaValle Stadium • Stony Brook, N.Y. • 2 p.m.
SUNDAY LIVE: STATS | VIDEO
Stony Brook Seawolves (3-2-0, 0-0-0 America East)
Head Coach: Ryan Anatol, second season
Career Record: 13-8-4
Record at SBU: same
Fordham Rams (3-2-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic 10)
Head Coach: Jim McElderry, 10th season
Career Record: 72-74-23
Record at Fordham: same
Buffalo Bulls (1-4-1, 0-0-0 Mid-American)
Interim Head Coach: David Hesch, second season
Career Record: 9-12-3
Record at Buffalo: same
The Matchups: Stony Brook is back at home and looking to complete a sweep of New York rivals in Fordham and Buffalo. The Friday night tilt with Fordham will be the program's first-ever meeting with the Bulls while Sunday's battle with the Bulls will be Stony Brook's first since 1990. Stony Brook and Buffalo met 10 times between 1973 and 1990 with the Bulls holding a 6-4 series edge. From 1984-1990, the two teams met every season as part of the SUNY Tournament. Friday night's game vs. Fordham is the third straight against an Atlantic 10 team. Prior to this season, Stony Brook had only faced one Atlantic 10 team since 2005.
Fordham: The Rams returned six starters from last season's team that captured the Atlantic 10 regular season championship. So far this season, Fordham has been involved in tight contests. All five of their games have been one-goal affairs and four of the five have been by 1-0 scores. The team owns wins over Adelphi, Siena and nationally ranked Brown while losing to Rutgers and Hartford. The Fordham defense has been sharp, allowing only three goals in nearly 460 minutes of action this season. Only 19 of 55 shots opponents have taken against Fordham have been on goal. On offense, Kalle Sotka leads with one goal and one assist.
Buffalo: The Bulls returned nine starters from last season's team that put together a strong 8-8-2 record and a 3-2-1 mark in the Mid-American Conference. The team has gotten off to a slow start this year, losing four in a row heading into Friday night's game at NJIT. The Bulls have four goals in the six matches, getting shut out three times so far this year, including a 4-0 loss at Cornell last Sunday. Richard Craven leads the offense with a pair of goals, and Maksym Kowal notched the game-winner in the lone win over St. Bonaventure. Jonathan Viscosi has been peppered in net; he has seen 35 shots on goal and stopped 24 of them. Overall, opponents are outshooting the Bulls 104-75.
Last Time Out: Stony Brook rebounded from a Friday night loss to nationally ranked Charlotte by blanking Saint Joseph's 2-0 last Sunday. Sverre Ofstad provided the goal needed to win the game with a 76th minute goal that he blasted from about 16-17 yards away. Alejandro Fritz added an 87th minute goal that put the game away. Leonardo Fernandes assisted on one of the goals and earned Kentucky Invitational All-Tournament team honors alongside defender Marius Krathe.
Starting Fast the Key: Stony Brook is 11-0-1 under head coach Ryan Anatol when the team scores the first goal of the game.
Approaching Milestones: With his assist last Sunday vs. Saint Joseph's Leonardo Fernandes is now tied for fifth all-time in Stony Brook program history in points (59) and assists (13). In posting his 14th career clean sheet vs. the Hawks, Stefan Manz is now just one shutout behind Dan Ferrin (2000-03) for first all-time in program history.
What a Start: Freshman Alejandro Fritz scored a goal on his first collegiate shot, and it represented the game-winner in a 5-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Aug. 24. The effort netted Fritz America East Rookie of the Week honors.
Leo the Lion: Leonardo Fernandes has firmly placed himself in the upper echelon of collegiate soccer. A two-time America East Midfielder of the Year, Fernandes was named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List and was named a third-team preseason All-American by College Soccer News. Fernandes has 23 goals and 13 assists in his 60-game career with the Seawolves.
Strong Offense: Stony Brook led America East with 31 goals scored last season and should continue its strong offensive ways. The team returns 94 percent of its goal scoring from last season.
Preseason Pick: Stony Brook goes into 2012 as the favorite to repeat as America East champion. The Seawolves were picked first in the preseason coaches poll, receiving six out of a possible seven first-place votes.
Tough Schedule: Stony Brook has a tough 17-game schedule that includes nine matches against teams that finished in the top 100 in RPI last season.
Up Next: After Sunday's battle with Buffalo, Stony Brook hits the road on Wednesday for a match at Sacred Heart beginning at 3:30 p.m.
