Orange Travels To Albany For Mid-Week Match

Game Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse men’s soccer team (2-0-2) puts its undefeated record on the line Wednesday, Sept. 12 when hits the road for a 4:00 p.m.non-league encounter with America East foe Albany at Varsity Field. It’s the last road match for the Orange before a three-game homestand, starting with its home opener versus Fordham on Sunday, Sept. 16 at the SU Soccer Stadium.

The Orange’s undefeated start through four games is its best since 2005 when it began the year 4-0-1. Head coach Dean Foti’s club went 1-0-1 for the second consecutive weekend with a victory against Seton Hall and a double-overtime draw versus James Madison at the 32nd annual Mayor’s Cup in Oneonta on Sept. 7 and Sept. 9, respectively. Syracuse placed second in the tournament behind Hartwick, which went 2-0 to claim the championship.

LENDING A HELPING HAND
Orange sophomore forward Hansen Woodruff (Stuart, Fla.) ranks ninth in Division I soccer in assists per game (0.75). Woodruff has three assists in SU’s first four matches and recorded the first multi-assist game of his career in the Orange’s season-opening win against Penn State. He also had a helper on SU’s goal against James Madison. Connecticut’s Mike Pezza leads the nation and conference in that category. Woodruff is tied for second in the BIG EAST in both assists and assists per game. He also is tied for the team lead in goals (2) and his seven points lists first on the squad.

ARENA GETS FIRST CAREER POINT
Freshman Justin Arena (Potomac, Md.) is making an impact in his rookie season, appearing in each of SU’s first four matches and playing critical minutes. Against Seton Hall on Sept. 7, Arena registered his first collegiate point when he tallied an assist on Tom Perevegyencev’s (Budapest, Hungary) goal in the 42nd minute.

PEREVEGYENCEV EQUALS INSTANT OFFENSE
After not appearing in any matches for SU in 2006, sophomore Tom Perevegyencev (Budapest, Hungary) has seen action off the bench in each of the first four matches in 2007. Perevegyencev has two goals and ranks second on the club with four points. He tallied his first career goal in SU’s 4-0 win against Penn State, and notched his second of the year in the 42nd minute against Seton Hall on Sept. 7 to tie the match before halftime.

ABOUT THE GREAT DANES
Albany began 2007 with a 2-1 triumph against Adelphi on Aug. 31, but the Great Danes are 0-3 in their last three encounters and have been outscored 10-3 in those matches. Albany’s defense has surrendered 2.63 goals per game on the season with most of its opponent’s damage coming in the opening half. The Great Danes have been outscored, 7-3, in the first 45 minutes compared to a 3-2 margin in the second stanza.

Scotland native Shaun Kane is Albany’s only multiple goal scorer. Kane has a pair of tallies, including one in the team’s season-opening win against Adelphi. Kenneth Ibe and Erik DiLorenzo are the only other two Great Dane players with goals. DiLorenzo netted the golden goal against Adelphi. Liverpool native, Colin Veney, assisted on the play. Goalkeeper Stewart Ceus has played every minute in net for Albany. He owns a 2.63 goals-against average and has 20 saves for head coach Johan Aarnio’s club.

Aarnio is in his seventh season at Albany. He is 58-57-15 with the Great Dans and could pick up his 100th career victory with a win against Syracuse. He is 99-73-20 overall.

In addition to Veney, Albany has two other players from the Syracuse area on its roster. Freshman midfielder Anthony DeSalvo attended Cicero-North Syracuse High School and classmate Matthew Kutzer is from Fayetteville and played his scholastic soccer at Fayetteville-Manlius.

THE SYRACUSE-ALBANY SERIES
The Orange is 3-1-0 all-time against the Great Danes and has outscored Albany, 9-2, in the previous four meetings. Wednesday’s pairing marks the fourth time in the last five years the two teams have gotten together. The first series meeting occurred in 1952.

Syracuse University Athletics

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