Orange Can Clinch Tournament Berth on Saturday

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange men’s soccer team (7-7-3, 3-6-1 BIG EAST) can clinch a berth in the 2005 BIG EAST Championship with a win against Red Division foe Villanova in the regular-season finale on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the SU Soccer Stadium. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be the final regular-season contest for Orange seniors Rich Scheer (Livingston, N.J./Livingston), Pat Gallagher (St. Louis, Mo.), Ezra Prendergast (Kingston, Jamaica), Mike McCallion (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) and Alim Karim (Scarborough, Ontario).

Scheer has appeared in two matches this season and has played in 17 career games with 11 starts. In 2004 he registered 27 saves and posted the fourth-best single-season goals against average (1.04) in team history. He has played more than 1,115 minutes at SU and has two career shutouts.

Gallagher has started 27-of-40 games in his SU career and has five points. This season he has been one of the keys to an Orange defense that has five shutouts and has allowed 16 goals in 17 matches (0.94).

Gallagher’s backline mate Ezra Prendergast earned NSCAA All-New York Region Third Team honors in 2004. He has started 27 games in his career and picked up his first career assist in SU’s 1-1 tie versus Marquette earlier this season. He notched the first goal of his career against Providence last season.

McCallion has started 58-of-66 games in his four seasons in Orange and was selected as SU’s Offensive MVP in 2004. All of his seven career points have been assists. A 2005 team captain, McCallion ranks second on the club with four helpers this year.

Karim has eight shutouts in his SU tenure and he has started 40 of the 41 games he has played in at SU. He has 181 career saves which ranks sixth all-time. Karim ranks seventh at SU in career saves per game (4.41) and ninth in career goals-against average (1.55).

Syracuse has split its last two games, both on the road, including a 3-0 loss at Rutgers on Oct. 26 in its most recent outing. The match marked just the second time the Orange allowed three goals all season. Even with the loss the Orange still own a team goals-against average of less than 1.00 (0.94).

SU has improved its numbers in almost every statistical category from last season It’s 0.94 goals-against average is .26 better than last season’s 1.20. SU has seven more assists than it did all of last season and its goals total (15) equals its scoring output of last year. Twelve of SU’s 19 players that have seen action in 2005 have at least one point and the Orange has bettered its 2004 season point total by seven so far this year (49-42).

Villanova clinched a spot in the league championship tournament with a 1-0 triumph versus St. John’s. It was the Wildcats first win since Sept. 25 and the victory improved their record to 4-4-1 in the conference and 5-7-3 overall.

Joe Taylor leads the team in assists (5) and points (9). Charlie Rowan is the Wildcats’ leading scorer with four tallies and five different players have each of Villanova’s five game-winning goals. Jason Friel has played more than 1,100 minutes in goal for the Wildcats and recorded each of Villanova’s five victories, all shutouts.

SU leads the all-time series with Villanova, 9-4-1. The two teams have split the last four meetings, with the Orange winning the last two.

Admission for the match is free and gates at the SU Soccer Stadium will open at 6:00 p.m.

Syracuse University Athletics

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