Kick-Or-Treat: Orange Hosts St. John's Wednesday On ESPNU
10/30/2007 2:34:28 PM | Men's Soccer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange (6-6-4, 3-6-0) will play its first-ever nationally-televised match on Wednesday, Oct. 31 when it entertains St. John’s at the SU Soccer Stadium at 7:00 p.m. The game will air live on ESPNU (channel 108 on Time Warner Cable in Syracuse). Eamon McAnaney will handle the play-by-play. Cobi Jones, the former L.A. Galaxy star and a member of three U.S. World Cup teams, will provide color analysis. The match is critical for the Orange as it must win its final two regular-season games and hope for a tie in the Cincinnati-Rutgers match on Nov. 3 to earn a spot in the BIG EAST Championship.
In addition, Students-Athletes Across Borders (SAAB), in affiliation with the men’s soccer team, will host an International Night at the Soccer Game featuring "Kick-or-Treat," a Halloween costume contest. Prizes will be awarded at halftime of the match. There is one contest for kids and another for students and adults. The first 300 fans to the stadium Wednesday will also receive an autographed copy of the 2007 Syracuse soccer team photo.
SENIORS SAY GOODBYE
Wednesday’s game is the final home match in the careers of Orange seniors Brad Peetoom (Abbotsford, British Columbia),
GOING FOR 400
The Orange’s 1-nil triumph against #22 USF on Oct. 27 was its 399th all-time victory. SU can record its 400th overall win with a victory against St. John’s on Wednesday. It’s 399 wins ranks sixth among BIG EAST Conference teams and Syracuse owns an all-time record of 399-427-92 dating back to 1920.
WOODRUFF NAMED TO BIG EAST HONOR ROLL
Sophomore Hansen Woodruff (Stuart, Fla.)
The tallies were his ninth and 10th goals of the season. He is the first SU player to record double-digit goals since Kirk Johnson had 13 in 2001. Woodruff has half of the Orange’s 20 scores this year and three of SU’s six game-winners. He has at least one goal in nine games in 2007 and has recorded at least one point in 10 contests.
CAVICCHIA RECORDS FOURTH SHUTOUT
Junior keeper Robert Cavicchia (North York, Ontario)
ABOUT THE RED STORM
St. John’s has already clinched a berth in the BIG EAST Tournament and is playing for one of the Red Division’s two first-round byes into the championship quarterfinals. The Red Storm had its seven-game unbeaten streak halted on Oct. 27 with a 2-0 loss to DePaul. Red Storm head coach Dr. Dave Masur won his 300th career game earlier this season and enters Wednesday’s match with a 304-97-55 overall record. He began this year tied for third among active Division I coaches with a .732 winning percentage. He guided the Red Storm to the 1996 national championship and three NCAA College Cup appearances. St. John’s won the BIG EAST Tournament title in 2006.
Of the 20 field players that have seen action for the Red Storm this season, 15 of them have registered at least one point. Michael Luk is the team’s leading scorer with nine points, including a team-best five assists. Adam Himeno, Nelson Becerra and Jeff Stepan are tied for the squad lead with three goals.
Goalkeeper Jason Landers has started 11 matches and owns a 0.62 goals-against average with six shutouts. Backup Neal Kitson has also seen plenty of action this year. He has appeared in eight contests with six starts. He owns a 3-3-1 record and has two shutouts. St. John’s is fourth in the conference in overall goals-against average with a mark of 0.72. It’s nine shutouts is tied for the second-most in the league.
THE SYRACUSE-ST. JOHN’S SERIES
St. John’s leads the all-time series against the Orange, 14-7-5, and is 7-0-2 versus Syracuse in the last nine meetings. The last time the Orange defeated the Red Storm was in 1996 by the score of 2-0, and SU has beaten St. John’s just once since Dean Foti took over the program in 1991. In six of the last nine contests, the Red Storm has held SU without a goal.
