Sept. 21, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--The Patriot League season will officially begin Saturday for all eight teams. Lehigh, which upset No. 24 College of Charleston on Friday, will host preseason favorite Colgate. Rivals Army and Navy will clash in Annapolis. American will travel to Bucknell, while Lafayette and Holy Cross will meet in Worcester.

Patriot League Men's Soccer Release 9.21.09

BRINE Offensive Player of the Week

Joe Puleo, Lehigh So., M/F, Preston, Pa. Puleo recorded two goals and an assist in the Mountain Hawks' two victories last week. He notched a goal and an assist in Lehigh's road win over Delaware. He also registered a goal in the Mountain Hawks' 3-2 upset victory against No. 24 College of Charletson.

BRINE Defensive Player of the Week

Adam Welch, Lehigh Sr., D, Bethlehem, Pa. Welch helped lead Lehigh to a pair of victories during the week. He blocked four shots against Delaware while helping hold the Fightin' Blue Hens to just one goal. He also recorded an assist in Lehigh's 3-2 win over No. 24 College of Charleston.

BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week

Chris Miller, Colgate So., GK, Dallas, Texas Miller stopped 81 percent of the shots he faced while making 13 saves in two games last week. He surrendered just one goal and made four stops in the Raiders' 2-1 win over Siena. He added nine saves in Colgate's 2-1 defeat to New Hampshire.

BRINE Rookie of the Week

Austin Decker, Lehigh Fr., F, Iowa City, Iowa Decker scored two goals in Lehigh's two victories last week, including the game-winner against No. 24 College of Charleston. It was Decker's first career game-winning goal. He also registered a goal in the Mountain Hawks' win at Delaware.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Brendan Burgdorf, Bucknell Fr., F, Westfield, N.J. Had a hand in both Bucknell goals against No. 24 College of Charleston. Helped tie the game at 1-1 with an assist in the first half. Gave the Bison a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the season.

Chris Salmon, Colgate Sr., M, Auburn, Wash. Scored the game-winning goal in Colgate's 2-1 triumph over Siena.

Jon Werth, Holy Cross Jr., M, University Park, Md. Registered the game-winning goal in the Crusaders' 2-1 victory over Northeastern, the third game-winning goal of his career.

Eric Wooten, Navy Fr., F, Woodbridge, Va. Netted the game-winner in overtime against Temple. The tally was his first career goal.

Patriot League Notebook

The Week In Review Lehigh scored a win over a ranked foe on Friday night, handing No. 24 College of Charleston its first loss of the season. Navy matched its win total from a year ago with a 3-2 win over Temple in the Penn Classic. The Mids were then topped by the host Quakers, 2-0. Navy shares the top record among Patriot League teams with Bucknell and Colgate. The Bison dropped their lone contest of the week, falling by a 3-2 margin to No. 24 College of Charleston. Colgate split with Siena and New Hampshire, taking a 2-1 victory over the Saints. Lafayette, which entered the week without a loss, suffered a pair of defeats at the Northwestern Soccer Classic in Evanston, Ill. The Leopards were outscored by Northern Illinois and Northwestern by a combined score of 7-2. American, which started the year 2-0, dropped its third straight game, a 2-1 decision versus William & Mary. Holy Cross, which split its two games last week, notched its first victory of the season, a 2-1 win over Northeastern. Army fell to Quinnipiac and Air Force, giving the Black Knights six straight losses.

On Deck Patriot League play will begin Saturday, with all eight teams in action. Preseason favorite Colgate will travel to Lehigh. American, which was picked second in the preseason poll, will play at Bucknell. Rivals Army and Navy will clash in Annapolis. Holy Cross will host Lafayette. Five teams will play non-League tune-up games on Wednesday. American will travel to Virginia Tech. Lehigh will play at Penn State. Navy will head to Philadelphia to take on LaSalle. Holy Cross will make the short trip to Boston University. The lone Patriot League team to play a home game on Wednesday will be Bucknell, which will host St. Francis (Pa.).

Young Mids Making Their Move Not only has Navy matched its win total from last season, the Mids have also matched their goal output from a year ago. Just six games into the 2009 campaign, Navy has scored 11 goals, the same amount that Navy produced last season. Of those 11 goals, six have been produced by freshmen. Navy's four game-winning goals have come from four different freshmen.

Freshmen Finding Their Way Three of the Patriot League's eight teams are led in scoring by freshmen. Lafayette (Sean Peckham), Lehigh (Austin Decker) and Navy (Michael Rakoczy) all find first-year players at the top of their statistical charts thus far. Bucknell also received a boost from its talented freshman class this weekend. CK Kumah and Brendan Burgdorf scored the Bison's two goals against No. 24 College of Charleston.

Brandt Wins 250th Career Game Navy head coach Dave Brandt claimed his 250th career victory. The winningest NCAA coach at any level, Brandt won 246 games at Messiah College. He won six NCAA Division III national championships with He has won four games in his first season in Annapolis.

Colgate Picked To Win Patriot League Championship Colgate was chosen as the favorite to win the 2009 Patriot League Men's Soccer championship in a preseason vote by head coaches and sports information directors. The winners of the past two Patriot League championships, the Raiders received 12 first-place votes and 95 overall points. Coaches and sports information directors could not vote for their own teams. American received the other four first place votes and 86 points overall, leaving them in the second position in the poll. Lafayette was picked third with 60 points, followed closely by Holy Cross (58), Bucknell (57) and Lehigh (49). Navy was selected seventh with 26 points, while Army was tabbed eighth with 17.

2009 Patriot League Tournament The 2009 Patriot League Tournament will take place Friday and Sunday, November 13 and 15 at the site of the highest seed. The top four teams as determined by the regular-season standings will participate in the Patriot League tourney.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles suffered their third straight defeat, a 2-1 loss at the hands of William & Mary. American has been held scoreless in its last three outings after opening the season with four goals in its first two games. The Eagles will attempt to get back on the winning track on Wednesday at Virginia Tech before opening the Patriot League season at Bucknell.

Army The Black Knights dropped back-to-back 1-0 contests last week, dropping them to 1-6 for the season. After falling at home to Quinnipiac, Army was dealt an overtime defeat by rival Air Force in Colorado Springs. The Black Knights have not scored since their season-opening win against NJIT. The Black Knights will seek to regain their winning form against rival Navy on Saturday.

Bucknell The Bison saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt on Sunday against No. 24 College of Charleston. A pair of freshmen, CK Kumah and Brendan Burgdorf, scored for the Bison in the 3-2 defeat. Bucknell will host St. Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday before opening Patriot League play at home against American.

Colgate The Raiders split a pair of games last week. Colgate topped Siena, 2-1, before falling to New Hampshire by the same score. Chris Salmon scored the game-winner against the Saints. Colgate has attempted 33 more shots than its opponents this season. The Raiders will begin Patriot League play on the road against Lehigh on Saturday.

Holy Cross The Crusaders picked up their first victory of the season in the form of a 2-1 triumph at Northeastern. Jon Werth's first goal of the season proved to be the game-winner. The Crusaders will play one final tune-up contest before Patriot League action commences. Holy Cross will play at Boston University before beginning League platy at home against Lafayette.

Lafayette Lafayette entered the week without a loss, but exited with two defeats after falling to Northern Illinois and Northwestern at the Northwestern Soccer Classic. The Leopards were outscored by a 7-2 margin at the tournament. Lafayette will attempt to get back on the winning track in its Patriot League opener on Saturday at Holy Cross.

Lehigh Lehigh became the first team to knock off No. 24 College of Charleston this season. The Mountain Hawks handed the Cougars a 3-2 defeat. Lehigh also recorded a 5-1 win over Delaware. Lehigh will play at Penn State on Wednesday before hosting preseason favorite Colgate in the teams' Patriot league opener.

Navy The Mids matched their win-total from last season with their fourth victory of the season, a 3-2 triumph over Temple. Navy split its weekend contests, falling to Penn. The Mids will attempt to maintain their positive momentum with two games this week. Navy will travel to LaSalle before opening Patriot League play against rival Army.