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UVM Athletics.com Soccer Update:
Catamounts Face Old Foes At UMass Men's Soccer Classic
Vermont Men?s Soccer Weekly Notebook
The Vermont Catamounts (2-2-2) renew a pair of old New England rivalries this weekend heading south to the UMass Soccer Classic. UVM takes on Rhode Island (1-1-2) Friday at 4:00pm and plays 22nd-ranked Massachusetts (5-0-1) Sunday at 2:00pm. All games will be played at Rudd Field in Amherst, Mass.
In their first home action of the season last weekend, the Catamounts split a pair of games at the 16th annual Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic topping Cornell, 3-1, and falling to then-23rd ranked Central Connecticut, 4-3. All four teams went 1-1 in the classic but Vermont squeaked by with the team _title_ on the second tiebreaker of most goals scored. UVM and New Hampshire each had a +1 goal differential but the Catamounts scored six times compared to two goals for UNH.
Senior back Corey Bronner (Morrisville, Vt.) was named the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic Defensive MVP, the second straight tournament he has picked up the award as the top defender. He was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore Jordan Crasilneck (Portland, Ore.) and freshman Nick Mead (Hinesburg, Vt.).
Offense Jump-Started ...
Vermont had been shut out for three straight games prior to the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic and then exploded for six goals in the two home games. The six goals came from five different players. Jordan Crasilneck tallied a goal in each game and Tyler Hasman (Portland, Ore.) found the net against Cornell and picked up an assist versus Central Connecticut. Corey Bronner stepped into the attack and scored his first goal of the season against CCSU while freshmen T.J. Gore (Macomb, Mich.) and Marty Galvin (N. Weymouth, Mass.) each notched their first career tallies.
Scouting The Rams and The Minutemen ...
Friday?s game is just the second meeting between the Catamounts and Rhode Island since 1993 renewing the rivalry between two members of the old Yankee Conference from 1964 to 1979. URI topped UVM, 4-1, in 2004 at Oregon State?s Hensor-Zaher Memorial Tournament. Under new coach John O?Connor, the Rams are 1-1-2 in their first four games and last weekend at Harvard?s tournament they lost 2-1 to Loyola Marymount and played Northeastern to a 1-1 tie.
Vermont and Massachusetts, also once members of the Yankee Conference, have not met since 1991. The Minutemen are off to their best start since 1971 and find themselves ranked in the NSCAA National Poll for the first time since 2003. Goalkeeper Zach Simmons (0.16 GAA) leads a solid UMass defense that has recorded four straight shutouts and has allowed just one goal in the first six games. The A-10 Minutemen are unbeaten in their last 12 regular season games at Rudd Field going 9-0-3.
Challenging Sundays ...
Vermont, in taking on #22 UMass, will face a nationally-ranked opponent for the third straight Sunday. UVM?s only defeats this season were 1-0 to #25 Washington on September 3 and last Sunday to #23 Central Connecticut. The Huskies, one of the nation?s last unbeaten and untied teams at 5-0-0, have climbed to fourth in the latest rankings while the Blue Devils, who lost 2-0 to UNH last Friday, have fallen from the NSCAA Top 25.
Solid Start ...
Freshman Nick Mead was named the America East Rookie of the Week Monday for his solid performance at the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic. Mead, whose brother T.J. ?04 was four-year regular for the Catamounts, has played a variety of roles at back and in the midfield in his first six games. He is UVM?s first conference weekly award winner in 2006.
Among the America East Leaders ...
The Catamounts are tied for third among America East schools in goals per game (1.50) and are third in goals against average (1.09). Goalkeeper Roger Scully (East Lyme, Conn.), who picked up his first career victory in goal versus Cornell, continues to lead the conference with a 0.45 goals against average. Forward Tyler Hasman, the Cats leading scorer with two goals and two assists, is tied for fifth in the league with six points.
Around the America East ...
Boston University, off to a 4-0-2 start, is ranked 19th in the latest NSCAA National Rankings. B.U. keeper Zach Riffert was named America East Player of the Week after an excellent effort at the Penn State Nike Classic ... UMBC?s Kevin Mazzendra leads America East in scoring with nine points on four goals and one assist ... Hartford (2-1-2) also competes at the UMass Soccer Classic this weekend taking on Massachusetts Friday and URI on Sunday ... UNH (4-1-2) is ranked ninth this week in the NSCAA Northeast Region Poll. The Northeast Region this season is comprised of schools from the America East, the Big East and the Ivy League ... Conference games begin on Saturday, September 23.
Cat Nips ...
Just four Catamounts, Corey Bronner, Jordan Crasilneck and Nick Mead have started all six games so far this season ... Justin Geibel (Boxford, Mass) and Panos Georgiadis (Morrisville, Vt.) had assists last weekend for their first points of the season ... All five Vermont forwards, Tyler Hasman, Jordan Crasilneck, T.J. Gore, Marty Galvin and Lee Stephane Kouadio (Woodlyn, Pa.) have scored at least one goal in the first six contests. Kouadio, a sophomore, had his first career assist Sunday against CCSU ... This is the last of four tournaments for the Catamounts to open the 2006 campaign. So far Vermont has captured the team _title_ in two also opening the season with the crown at UNH's Nike Fall Soccer Classic.
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