Men's Soccer Hosts Potsdam In Rare Matchup Tuesday

9/17/2019 10:53:00 AM

UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team looks to go unbeaten for a third straight, and notch a second straight victory as it hosts SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday, September 17th at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. Opening kickoff of the non-conference match is set for 7 p.m.

Follow Along: Live video and stats will be available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. The broadcast of Saturday's match will also be on the Empire 8 apps available through Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and AppleTV platforms. The apps make watching even easier for fans who have those devices connected to their television, and will also routinely carry Utica's away matches against Empire 8 opponents. The apps are available free of charge.

Where We Sit: The Pioneers are capping off a four match homestand on Tuesday night. Utica is off to one of its best starts in recent years at 3-1-1, marking the club's best start through five matches since 2012, when the Pioneers opened at 4-1. The Pioneers opened the season 2-0 with wins over SUNY Poly and Delhi, then had a loss and tie the following weekend against Morrisville and Cobleskill at home. This past week, the Pioneers regrouped with a full week of training and went on to prevail over Clarkson on Saturday, 1-0.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers hoisted themselves past Clarkson by a 1-0 score on Saturday. Freshman Connor McQuillan (Rochester, NY/Brighton) scored the lone goal of the match in the eighteenth minute off an assist by Thomas Muller (Camillus, NY/Bishop Ludden). The Pioneers were outshot 22-5 but the differential would not matter to the outcome as Randy Miksch (Lake Villa, IL/Warren Township) carded the clean sheet.

The Last Time They Met: The last time the Pioneers and Bears met, the current players on each team were very young. Utica and Potsdam last met on the pitch on September 8th, 2004, with Potsdam nailing down a 3-1 win.

The All Time Series: This will be the twelfth all-time meeting between Utica and Potsdam. Potsdam leads the all-time series seven wins to four, and the Bears have won the last five meetings. Potsdam's streak comes on the heels of a span where Utica won four straight meetings in the late 1990s.

Defensive Player of the Week: Goalkeeper Randy Miksch (Lake Villa, IL/Warren Township) of the Utica College men's soccer team has been named the Empire 8 Conference Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week. The Pioneer goalkeeper was superb as his eight saves guided Utica to a 1-0 clean sheet victory over Clarkson. He has allowed a goal or less in his last two starts, and has not conceded more than two goals in any match this season. He has logged every minute in goal. He is third in the conference in saves per game.

Counting The Beans: The Pioneers are currently scoring at a clip of 1.80 goals per game, which marks a sharp one goal improvement over last season's average. They rank third in the Empire 8 conference in that category.

Leading the Way: Rookie Connor McQuillan (Rochester, NY/Brighton) and veteran midfielder Tucker Marvin (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) currently pace the Utica scoring with five total points apiece. Each member of that pairing has two goals and an assist this season along with four shots on goal apiece.

Tom Terrific: Thomas Muller (Camillus, NY/Bishop Ludden) has been in top form for the Pioneers in recent matches. He netted a lifeline goal in the 88th minute to keep Utica alive in a 1-1 draw against Cobleskill on Sunday, September 8th. He then contributed to the game winner against Clarkson with an enterprising run into the box that induced the defense to panic and turn the clearance over to McQuillan for the 1-0 finish and the match-winning goal. He has a goal and an assist this year.

He's Got It Down Pat: Midfielder Patrick Hynes (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) is one of two players with a team-leading three assists, and has stood as one of the most reliable presences on the Pioneer lineup sheet this season. He is the only player on the club to have played all 475 minutes of the team's season so far. He is third in the Empire 8 in assists per match.

Jhonny B Goode: Freshman Jhonny Theze (Bronx, NY/Claremont International) has been generating scoring opportunities at an eye popping rate for the Pioneers this season. Theze is among the Empire 8 leaders in shots taken as his average of 3.80 shots per match ranks second among players in the conference. Theze has a goal and an assist so far.

The Bear Necessities: After a 2-0 start, the Bears are winless in their last five outings to stand at 2-4-1 for the season. Teddy Bruschini and Alejandro Callejas are the team's top strikers on the season with three goals apiece. Six other Bears have scored a goal this year. Conor Callan is the team's primary goalkeeper and has started all seven matches. Callan is 2-4-1 with a save percentage of .741. Potsdam averages 1.71 goals per game, and concedes an even 1.00 goals per match.