After a pair of home matches last week against Siena and Monmouth, the Purple Eagles men’s soccer team heads to the road this week. On Wednesday, Niagara heads to Jersey City for a 3 p.m. match with the Saint Peter’s Peacocks. Both schools are 1-3 in MAAC play and looking to secure crucial points in the conference standings.
At Niagara Field last week, the Purple Eagles dropped a pair of 1-0 matches to the Siena Saints and Monmouth Hawks. Against Siena on Wednesday, the Purple Eagles held a 3-1 shot advantage early before giving up the first goal to the Saints’ Junior Rosero in the 31st minute. Steve Casey made five saves to keep Niagara at a one-goal deficit, and Borna Juracic and Sergio Lujan had chances to tie the game late, but the Purple Eagles could not find an equalizer against Siena. Casey made another four saves against Monmouth on Saturday, Oct. 8, but a tenth-minute goal by the Hawks was enough for the 1-0 decision. Niagara held pace with the 2015 MAAC runners-up in Saturday’s loss, as Monmouth held a slim advantage in both shots (14-12) and shots on goal (5-4) over the Purple Eagles. Shiquan Lowe and Mbongeni Tshuma each had chances on goal in the first half against Monmouth, while Konrad Zydowicz launched a pair of shots on goal in the second half, both of which were turned away by the Hawks’ Eric Klenofsky.
Niagara boasts one of the MAAC’s stingiest defenses, ranking fourth in the conference in both scoring defense (1.15 goals against per game) and save percentage (.772). After redshirting the 2015 season due to injury, Steve Casey has started all but one game in goal this year. Casey has a 1.17 goals-against average and .765 save percentage, both fifth-best among MAAC goalkeepers, and he has kept a clean sheet in three matches. Casey averages 3.90 saves per match, the fifth-highest mark in the MAAC. A Buffalo native, Casey was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 26. He made five saves in a 1-0 blanking of Quinnipiac to open conference play on Sept. 25. Mackenzie Roach leads Niagara scorers with five points on two goals and one assist. He earned the season’s first MAAC Rookie of the Week honor after scoring two goals in the season opener at Robert Morris on Aug. 26.
Saint Peter’s hosts Niagara as both teams look for important points to move up the conference rankings. The Peacocks defeated Monmouth at home on Oct. 1, but have since suffered setbacks to Fairfield (2-0 on Oct. 5) and Manhattan (2-1 on Oct. 8). Goalkeeper Jamie Cleland leads the MAAC in both total saves (60) and saves per game (6.00), ranking seventh and third, respectively, in those categories in the NCAA. Saint Peter’s is eighth in the MAAC in scoring offense (1.08 goals per game) and tenth in scoring defense (2.11 goals against per game).
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
