Utica, NY (10/28/14) – The Utica College men's soccer team will travel Wednesday for a non-conference game against the Plattsburgh State Cardinals. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
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LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers hosted St. John Fisher Saturday afternoon at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … UC and Fisher were evenly matched throughout the entire game … Utica snuck in two late goals before the end of regulation for a shutout victory …
Matt Beljan (Bedminster, PA/Christopher Dock) scored his first career goal for Utica while
Shane Ruffing (Rochester, NY/Westborough) scored his tenth goal of the season.
GAME WINNERS: Utica has five different players with at least one game-winning goal this season …
Shane Ruffing (Rochester, NY/Westborough) leads the pack with two, followed by
Chris Stashko (Apalachin, NY/Apalachin),
Bita Gazashvili (Tiblisi, Georgia),
Raine Owens (Pine Plains, NY/Stissing Mt. ), and
Matt Beljan (Bedminster, PA/Christopher Dock) … In the last two games, Stashko and Beljan lifted UC to victory.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior goalie
David Abdou (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) was named the Empire 8 Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season … Abdou played lights out as he had two shutout victories against SUNY Canton and St. John Fisher; bringing his total to five … He had a career-high 13 saves against Canton and added another six against Fisher … He now has an Empire 8 best 95 saves.
HERE TO ASSIST: Bita Gazashvili (Tiblisi, Georgia) continues to lead the Empire 8 in assists with six … Bita recorded his last assist and goal against Skidmore College (10/7/14) … The freshman has played in 15 games this year and has started in 11.
LAST TIME AGAINST PLATTSBURGH: UC hosted Plattsburgh (9/23/13) last year and were shut out at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … The Cardinals scored late in the second half to score the lone goal of the match … Utica was limited to only four shots on the day, while Plattsburgh had nine.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Plattsburgh is 8-9-1 overall and 5-5 at home … The Cardinals are on a three game losing streak … As a team they have 13 different players with at least one point … They are led by Alexis Archilla with 14 goals and two assists for a SUNY Athletic Conference best 30 points.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Pioneers will host the final game of the season in a conference match up against Alfred University. UC will send off four seniors Saturday; they are
Anthony Fotino (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central),
Chris Stashko (Apalachin, NY/Apalachin),
Shane Ruffing (Rochester, NY/Westborough), and
David Abdou (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro). The game is set to start at 4 p.m.