Oct. 9, 2012

Patriot League Men's Soccer Release - 10.9.12

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- Another weekend of Patriot League play is in the books, and the standings remain as tight as ever with three of the seven weeks complete. Just three points separate first from a tie for fifth, with Saturday's schedule featuring another plate of important League contests.

American edged Army 3-2 in overtime Saturday to jump into first place with seven points. The Eagles are just a single point in front of Lafayette, a 1-0 winner Saturday at Lehigh. The Leopards will host American Saturday at 7 p.m. in a big matchup at the top of the standings.

Bucknell and Holy Cross, both coming off draws last weekend, will go head to head Saturday afternoon in Worcester. The Bison and Crusaders are tied for fifth with four points, but are just a win away from jumping into the middle of the pack at the top.

Navy is unbeaten in its last seven (4-0-3) and hasn't lost since Sept. 8 against High Point. The Mids will host a Lehigh club Saturday that is eager for a League win.

The last of Saturday's contests features Colgate visiting Army at 7:30 p.m. The defending champion Raiders are tied for third, while Army is looking for more luck than it had against the Eagles.

Before we get to the weekend, six League squads will step out of conference play this weekend, with five playing Tuesday.

Patriot League Notebook

• Navy is ranked sixth and Bucknell and American are tied for eighth in Tuesday's NSCAA/Continental Tire Mid-Atlantic top 10.

• American and Lafayette were 1-2 in the standings when they met in Washington, D.C., this time a year ago. The Eagles won 1-0 in overtime on Alassane Kane's game-winner in the 92nd minute.

• Tuesday's action starts with a pair of 3 p.m. matches as Lafayette goes to Villanova and Lehigh visits Georgetown. The Hoyas were ranked third nationally last Tuesday, but dropped a pair of BIG EAST matches since.

• Four of the five League teams playing Tuesday are on the road. The exception is Colgate, which hosts Cornell at 7 p.m.

• Colgate's Mike Reidy has edged ahead of American's Colin Seigfreid for the League lead in points. Reidy leads all with six goals and 13 points, while Seigfreid is close behind with 12 points (4g, 4a).

• Saturday's 1-1 tie between Bucknell and Navy snapped the Bison's six-match win streak in the series. It was Navy's first point against Bucknell since 2005.

• Navy's seven-game unbeaten streak is the program's longest since a 10-game run in 2000 (9-0-1).

Patriot League Weekly Awards

BRINE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DALE McDONALD, AMERICAN Jr., F, Portmore, Jamaica
A week after notching the game-winner against Bucknell, McDonald came up big for the Eagles again with a goal and an assist in Saturday's back-and-forth 3-2 win at Army. He assisted on Colin Seigfreid's goal that knotted the game at 1-1 early in the first half, then scored his own marker in the 39th minute to put the Eagles ahead 2-1. It's McDonald's first Patriot League weekly honor of the season.

BRINE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CRISTOBAL SOTO, AMERICAN Jr., D, Santiago, Chile
Soto came up from the back line to score the overtime game-winner as American outlasted Army 3-2 Saturday at West Point. His marker came just 39 seconds into extra time after taking a short pass from Chris Kuramoto on a free kick. He also had a defensive save in the first half, knocking the ball away from the goal line while Army was pressuring when the game was tied 1-1. Soto picks up his third Defensive Player of the Week nod this season.

BRINE GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK
MIKE LANSING, BUCKNELL Fr., GK, Randolph, N.J.
Lansing is named Goalkeeper of the Week for the third time this season and earns his fourth weekly honor from the League during his rookie campaign after making nine saves in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Navy. Seven of his stops came in overtime with the game on the line. Lansing had two critical stops during a Navy flurry in the final 10 seconds of the first extra frame before adding three more saves in the second overtime to preserve the tie.

BRINE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
NATE ARRONSON, LAFAYETTE Fr., D, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Arronson's first career goal came in the second half of the Leopards' 1-0 victory at rival Lehigh Saturday night. The rookie defenseman from Bryn Mawr, Pa., scored off a free kick from about 30 yards out to put Lafayette on the board. Arronson was critical to the Leopards' defensive success in the match as well, as he played on a back line that surrendered just four shots on goal to the Mountain Hawks. It's the first weekly honor of Arronson's career.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
BRENDAN BURGDORF, BUCKNELL Sr., M, Westfield, N.J.
Burgdorf scored at the 18:00 mark to put Bucknell up 1-0 against Navy in a match that eventually ended in a 1-1 draw. It's the 20th marker of his career, putting him three shy of the school's all-time top 10.

MIKE REIDY, COLGATE Sr., M, Webster, N.Y.
Reidy scored against another Patriot League opponent, this time on a penalty kick as Colgate drew Holy Cross 1-1 Saturday in Hamilton, N.Y. Reidy's score came in the 34th minute to even up the match after the Crusaders had taken a 1-0 lead 15 minutes before.

KEVIN WRIGHT, HOLY CROSS Fr., GK, McKinney, Texas
Wright stopped a season-high eight shots as Holy Cross fought to a 1-1 draw at Colgate Saturday in League play.

THOMAS SHIIBA, NAVY Fr., F, Swarthmore, Pa.
Shiiba's first career goal came in the 38th minute of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Bucknell. The Bison were up 1-0 at the time, and the match ended with a well-deserved point for both clubs.