Weekly Notes: Difficult Road Trips Loom for Men’s Soccer

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE VERSION OF WEEK EIGHT GAME NOTES (PDF)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
Marygrove (6-5-1, 3-1-1 WHAC) at Indiana Tech (3-7-1, 0-4-1 WHAC)
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Warrior Athletic Field — Fort Wayne, Ind.
Coverage: Live Stats (via Indiana Tech)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
Marygrove (6-5-1, 3-1-1 WHAC) at Aquinas (7-3-1, 2-2-1 WHAC)
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Aquinas Soccer Field — Grand Rapids, Mich.
Coverage: None

BY THE NUMBERS
11: Seventh-year head coach Matt Johnson and the men’s soccer team went 2-0 last week with impressive wins over Concordia-Ann Arbor (7-0) and Lourdes (3-1). In all, 11 different Mustangs tallied points over the two-match stretch that saw the Green and Gold outscore the opposition, 10-1. Abdoulie Jallow led the all scorers with eight points on the week (3G, 2A).

3: The Mustangs entered the 2015 campaign with arguably the most depth on their roster in the seven-year history of the program. The depth has shown throughout the season as the Mustangs have used numerous lineups to combat the opposition. Only three (3) Mustangs have started all 12 matches – Gaoussou Cisse, Talal Hamodi and Jeff Okerstrom.

10: The Mustangs enter the week in a tie for third place in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play with Cornerstone. The third-place tie is a result of identical conference records, 3-1-1, for 10 points in league play. Both teams sit five points behind WHAC-leading No. 2 Northwestern Ohio and No. 5 Davenport at 15 points on the season.

MUSTANG REWIND
Two wins last week lifted the Marygrove men’s soccer team over the .500 mark overall on the season at 6-5-1. More importantly, the pair of wins last week elevated the Mustangs to 10 points in WHAC play with a record of 3-1-1 through five matches. The Mustangs cruised past Concordia-Ann Arbor, 7-0, on Wednesday (Oct. 7) before following that up with a 3-1 victory over Lourdes on Oct. 10.

TWO ROAD MATCHES AHEAD
The Mustangs will hit the road for a pair of matches this week, one at Indiana Tech on Wednesday (Oct. 7) at 7 p.m. and the other on Saturday (Oct. 10) in Grand Rapids against Aquinas at 3 p.m. Last season, the Mustangs topped Indiana Tech by a 5-2 final in Detroit and followed that up three days later with a 2-0 victory over Aquinas. Aquinas later eliminated Marygrove in the WHAC Playoffs.

SCOUTING INDIANA TECH
The Indiana Tech Warriors enter the Wednesday evening “under the lights” matchup with the Mustangs owning a 3-7-1 overall record and an 0-4-1 mark in WHAC action. The Warriors have had an unlucky start to WHAC play, settling for a tie with Michigan-Dearborn, 4-4, on Oct. 7 while going 0-for-4 in other league contests despite scoring six combined goals. Entering the week, the Warriors have allowed 17 goals through their first five WHAC matches of the 2015 season.

THE MARYGROVE-INDIANA TECH SERIES
The Mustangs hold a 3-0-1 record all-time against Indiana Tech, including a perfect 1-0 mark in postseason play after the Green and Gold upset the Warriors in Fort Wayne, Ind. in the WHAC Quarterfinals on Nov. 3, 2012. The Mustangs are 2-0-0 all-time at Indiana Tech with both matches decided by one goal.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Mustangs four overtime matches in 2015 already ranks second in a single season in program history. The record for most overtime matches in a season is six (6) set in 2012.

SCOUTING AQUINAS
Head coach Joe Veal is back for season 11 at the helm of Aquinas College men’s soccer and has led the Saints to a 7-3-1 (2-2-1 WHAC) record as of Oct. 12. The Saints have been stingy on the back end once again this season, allowing a mere nine goals through 11 matches this season. Balanced goalkeeping from Todd Hall and Ty VandePoel account for six of the Saints’ seven shutouts.

THERE’S SOME HISTORY HERE…
Saturday’s meeting between Marygrove and Aquinas will be the seventh in a series that has developed into a bit of a opposite-side-of-the-state rivalry over the past two years. The Saints have bounced the Mustangs in the WHAC Quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons, while Marygrove enjoyed a 2-0 win in Detroit during the 2014 regular season. Aquinas is 4-2-0 all-time vs. Marygrove.

JOHNSON, PROGRAM REACH 50 WINS
Congratulations are in order for seventh-year head coach Matt Johnson on his 50th win at the helm of the Marygrove men’s soccer program. The win was also the program’s 50th as Johnson has been the only coach in the seven-year history of Marygrove men’s soccer. Johnson got to 50 quicker than any coach in Marygrove history, partly due to the Mustangs’ 19-11-5 all-time record in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play. Johnson enters the week with a 51-64-6 record through six-plus seasons of work.

THIS WEEK IN MUSTANG HISTORY
On Oct. 15, 2014, Marygrove men’s soccer topped the Indiana Tech Warriors, 5-2, in Detroit despite playing shorthanded for the final 75 minutes. The Mustangs held a 2-1 lead at halftime before opening up the match in the second half behind Abdoulie Jallow’s eight-point day (three goals, two assists).

THE MUSTANG SPORTS NETWORK (MSN)
The MSN is back for another year of live video on marygrovemustangs.com/live, this time with expanded coverage including multiple cameras and added talent!

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MEN’S SOCCER CONTACT: Tim Johnston | [email protected]/* */ | @tjohnston56
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