Oct. 15, 2007

It is almost the half-way point in the League portion of the men's soccer picture, and the playoff picture remains as hazy as it did a few weeks ago. American, Bucknell and Colgate each posted a win last weekend, to move into a three-way tie for first place with seven points apiece. The other winner last week was Holy Cross, who moved into fourth place with five points.

After earning wins on the pitch this past weekend, the top three teams have each received at least one weekly award. For Colgate, seniors Eric Anton and Dan Belke have been named offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively. Bucknell senior Joey Kuterbach gets the nod for goalkeeper of the week, while American freshman Daniel Shannon has earned rookie of the week accolades.

Patriot League Men's Soccer Release - 10.15.07
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BRINE Offensive Player of the Week
Eric Anton, Colgate Sr., F, Tacoma, Wash.
Anton earns his first weekly award accolades of the 2007 season following his game-winning goal at Lafayette on Sunday. Anton scored in the 80th minute to break a 1-1 tie. He currently has three goals and one assist on the season.

BRINE Defensive Player of the Week
Dan Belke, Colgate Sr., D, W. Bloomfield, Mich.
Belke has been named defensive player of the week for the second consecutive week. The senior defender recorded an assist on Colgate's first goal in a 2-1 win over Lafayette. He also led a defensive unit that held the Leopards to eight shots, only four of which were on goal.

BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week
Joey Kuterbach, Bucknell Sr., Kingwood, Texas
Kuterbach earns his second weekly honors of the season after posting his fifth shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over Army. The senior from Kingwood, Texas turned away three shots, and with the shutout moves into a tie for fourth on Bucknell's career list with 15.

BRINE Rookie of the Week
Daniel Shannon, American Fr., F, Frederick, Md.
This is Shannon's first rookie of the week award, and second weekly award of the season thus far. The newcomer scored the game-winning goal in the 71st minute of American's 1-0 victory over Navy. The goal and the win keep American's unbeaten League record intact at 2-0-1.

Honorable Mention

Chris Sedlak, American
Sr., GK, Valrico, Fla.
Recorded a shutout in American's 1-0 victory over Navy, keeping the Eagles' unbeaten League record intact.

Patriot League Notebook

It Takes Three to Tango
After three games of League play, there are three Patriot League teams tied atop the standings. American, Bucknell and Colgate have each garnered seven points so far, and have yet to be defeated. Sitting alone in fourth place is Holy Cross with five points, and in fifth with four points is Lafayette, which suffered its first defeat in League play on Sunday.

Soccer Similarities
As was the case with their female counterparts over the past week, only one home team was able to record a victory in League play last week. That team would be the Holy Cross Crusaders, who finished off Lehigh by a 2-1 margin.

Regional Rankings
The most recent version of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Regional Rankings featured several Patriot League schools. Here are the schools, accompanied by their region and ranking:

Lafayette - No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Lehigh - No. 5 in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Colgate - No. 6 in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Bucknell - No. 8 in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Army - No. 10 in the Mid-Atlantic Region

The next set of regional and national rankings will be released by the NSCAA on Tues. Oct. 16.

2007 Patriot League Tournament
The 2007 Patriot League Tournament will take place Friday and Sunday, November 16 and 18 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 took a break from League action last week as they traveled to Philadelphia to take on Penn. American was defeated 2-1, but was able to bounce back on Saturday with a 1-0 win against Navy in Patriot League play.

Army
After a scorching start to the season, the Black Knights have begun to cool off. Losses last week at Yale and at home to Bucknell have the Black Knights mired in a four-game losing streak and winless in Patriot League play. The Army defense gave up a goal on a penalty kick in the 1-0 loss to Bucknell, but played solidly for the remainder of the game.

Bucknell
The Bison took to the pitch just once last week, but picked up three more points in the League standings in the process. Corey Curnutte's penalty kick at the end of the first half proved to be the deciding goal in Bucknell's 1-0 win at Army. The Bison are currently riding a season long seven-game winning streak, and will look to stretch it even further when they travel to Hamilton, N.Y. on Sunday for a first-place showdown at Colgate.

Colgate
The Raiders won a crucial game on the road at Lafayette Sunday afternoon to propel themselves into a three-way tie for first place in the League standings. Senior Eric Anton delivered the decisive goal for the Raiders with just over 10 minutes remaining in the contest. The Raiders scored two goals in the final twenty minutes to procure the victory.

Holy Cross
The Crusaders were the only team to win a home League game this past weekend as they beat Lehigh, 2-1. Andreas Andrews scored the game-winning goal for the Crusaders, who remain unbeaten in League play with the win. Holy Cross will dip out of League play for a road game at No. 7 Harvard on Wednesday afternoon.

Lafayette
The Leopards had their nine-game unbeaten streak snapped on Sunday afternoon following a 2-1 loss to Colgate. Lafayette, who had scored a late goal to earn a tie at Penn State earlier in the week, allowed two goals in the late stages of the Colgate game to suffer their first League defeat, and their first loss since Sept. 2 when they lost to St. Peter's in OT.

Lehigh
Lehigh dropped two games on the road last week at Maryland and Holy Cross. The Mountain Hawks will look to bounce back this weekend when they travel to our nation's capitol to take on first-place American.

Navy
Navy's League struggles continued after dropping a 1-0 decision to American at home last weekend. The Mids will travel to No. 19 West Virginia on Wednesday, before returning home to face Holy Cross.