Unbeaten Men's Soccer Prepares For Mayor's Cup; Foti To Coach 300th Match Sunday
9/6/2007 11:49:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse Orange (1-0-1) play in its second regular-season tournament this weekend when it heads to nearby Oneonta, N.Y., for the annual Mayor’s Cup hosted by Hartwick College. The Orange face BIG EAST affiliate Seton Hall (2-0-0) in a non-conference encounter in its opening match on Friday, Sept. 7 at 5:00 p.m. In its second contest, Syracuse will take on James Madison (1-1-0) for the first time in school history. Kickoff against the Dukes is at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9. Both matches will be played at Elmore Field on Hartwick’s campus.
This weekend’s tournament will be a homecoming for Syracuse head coach Dean Foti. He hails from Oneonta and was a standout at Oneonta High School before starring for the Orange from 1979-82. Fittingly, he will coach his 300th game in his hometown when Syracuse plays James Madison on Sunday.
ABOUT THE MAYOR’S CUP
The Mayor’s Cup was started in 1976 and was the first truly national collegiate soccer tournament, attracting outstanding teams from across the country to battle the local sides - Hartwick College and Oneonta State - at a time when both were top NCAA Division I teams. Among the teams that have made the trip to Oneonta are Virginia, American University, San Jose State, Alabama A&M, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and, closer to home, Penn State, Cleveland State, and Rutgers.
This year marks the 32nd Mayor’s Cup. Hartwick has the most titles of any school, winning the tournament 16 times and tying Pittsburgh for the championship in 1997. Penn captured the title in 2006.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Like the Orange, Seton Hall started the 2007 campaign unbeaten. The Pirates defeated Stony Brook, 2-0, in its opener on Aug. 31, and then pounded Penn, 6-2, on Sept. 3. Preseason All-BIG EAST performer Eliseo Giusfredi is the conference’s leading scorer with seven points in two matches and is tied for the league lead in goals scored (3). Giusfredi’s play is the main reason the Pirates sit atop the conference in goals per game (4.0), but he has had help, most notably from Andrew Welker, who is Seton Hall’s only other multiple goal scorer so far. Welker has a pair of tallies on the year. The Pirates also feature another playmaker in rookie Brayan Martinez. Martinez is the reigning BIG EAST Rookie of the Week after assisting on both in goals in Seton Hall’s win against Stony Brook. Goalkeeper Paul McHenry anchors Seton Hall’s defense. McHenry allowed one goal and made nine saves in 160 minutes and 59 seconds worth of action. The sophomore stopped five shots to earn the shutout against Stony Brook.
James Madison lost its season opener, 1-0, to Marshall in the opening round of the JMU/Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club Men’s Soccer Tournament last weekend, but responded with a 4-1 triumph against No. 23 UNC - Greensboro two days later. The Dukes are coached by Tom Martin, the fourth-winningest active Division I head coach. Martin has 409 victories in his 30-year coaching career and has guided James Madison to the NCAA Tournament eight times.
The Dukes got goals fromn four different players in its victory against the Hornets. Kyle Morsink, Lucas Domgoerger,
Nick Zimmerman and CJ Sapong each had goals in the contest. Goalkeeper Ken Manahan played all 180 minutes in net during the weekend. He has six saves.
APT PUPIL
Goalie Robert Smith (Niagara Falls, Ontario) was named to the league’s weekly honor roll for the first time in his career. Smith made his start between the posts a memorable one. He played all 90 minutes and made three saves against Penn State to earn his first career shutout. It was also the second win of his career. In 2006, he played 45 minutes against Binghamton and picked up a victory. In addition, Smith started the Wolstein Classic championship match against Ohio State on Sept. 2 and played the first 79:13 without allowing a goal before he was replaced. For his career, Smith has logged 214:13 in net and has eight saves. He has yet to give up a score.
OFFENSE EXPLODES VERSUS PENN STATE
Syracuse tallied four goals in its season-opening win against Penn State on Aug. 31. It was the most goals for the Orange since it netted four scores in a 4-0 shutout of Cornell on Oct. 22, 2003. The four tallies represented the most for Syracuse in a season-opening game under head coach Dean Foti, who took over the team in 1991. The Orange recorded a 5-1 victory in the 1990 campaign starter against Oneonta under former coach Tim Hankinson.
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
The Orange’s 4-0 victory against Penn State in its opening match of the Wolstein Classic marked the third consecutive year SU has begun the season with a win. The Orange defeated Niagara at home, 3-1, to start the 2006 campaign and shut out Marist, 1-0, at home in the 2005 season-opener. The triumph also represented the Orange’s first road season-opening win since 1995 when SU knocked off Monmouth at the Umbro Classic hosted by St. John’s.
THE SYRACUSE-SETON HALL SERIES
Seton Hall holds a 14-3-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams. The Orange last beat the Pirates in 1999, 2-1. Seton Hall won the first six series meetings before the Orange broke through for a 3-2 double-overtime victory in 1993. The Pirates won last year’s affair, 2-1, in a match played at The New Jersey Institute of Technology.
THE SYRACUSE-JAMES MADISON SERIES
Sunday’s match marks the first time Syracuse and James Madison have met on the soccer field.
