GAMEDAY CENTRAL
#16 Embry-Riddle (8-1, 6-0) at Warner (6-5-1, 3-3)
DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013
CITY: Lake Wales, Fla.
SITE: Royals Field
START: 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO: Warner's Portal
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 5 GAMES: 5-0
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 10 GAMES: 8-2
EMBRY-RIDDLE ON THE ROAD IN 2013: 4-0
WARNER AT HOME IN 2013: 4-3
AT A GLANCE
Embry-Riddle looks to cement its spot at the top of The Sun Conference this week with a pair of games, one on the road and one in Daytona Beach. The Eagles travel to Lake Wales to take on Warner in another crucial league match. On Saturday, the Eagles return home for their final home regular season match by hosting Webber International.
The Eagles are coming off an offensvie outburst for the ages on Saturday in which they set the record for goals, assists and points in an 18-0 thrashing of visiting Ave Maria.
Nicklas Petersson broke the NAIA record for assists in a game with eight, while ERAU tallied 19 total assists (second most in NAIA history) and 55 total points.
ABOUT THE ROYALS
The Royals are 6-5-1 overall and 3-3 in The Sun Conference, currently in sixth in the league table. Fabio Tamayo, in his second season at Warner, has a veteran team that boasts 16 upperclassmen, including one of the league's best in Diego De la Fuente. Warner has dropped three consecutive contests, all conference matches, but before that had won five straight.
De la Fuente leads the Royal offense with four goals and three assists, while Bruno da Silva has chipped in three goals and four assists and Daniel Marrugo has added four goals for a team that has outscored its opponents, 21-18.
Leo Viala has been the Warner goalkeeper in all 12 of the squad's matches, playing all but 80 minutes thus far. Viala has made 47 saves and allows 1.32 goals-per-game with three shutouts on his resume.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Nov. 3, 2012 - DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's soccer team got a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over Warner in The Sun Conference Quarterfinal contest at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. The victory sent the Eagles on to the semifinals in the league tournament.
The Eagles fell behind early as Warner took advantage of Embry-Riddle's aggressive offensive attack and caught the Blue and Gold in transition. Diego De la Fuente put the Royals on the board as he fired a shot from just inside the penalty box, squeezing the ball inside the crossbar. Iker Ibanez was able to cross the ball from left to right, leading De la Fuente into the box and in perfect position for the goal.
Embry-Riddle had several opportunities in the first half, including a
Veit Couturier header that was knocked away at the last minute by a Royal defender, but could not convert before the half.
The physical play continued into the second half as five cautions were issued in the period. Both teams played possession soccer, taking few chances in the early going.
The scoring opportunities started to mount for the Eagles late in the period with several shots going just wide of net that is until the 73
rd minute when
Nicklas Petersson found an opening and fired a laser through several defenders, past Royals goalkeeper Kyle Coleman and into the upper 90 for the equalizer.
With the score tied and time winding down, the Eagles' last opportunity to win before overtime came off a set piece as
Sam Fairhurst sent the ball into the box and found the head of
Marcus Starke, but Starke's header hit the crossbar and the scored remained 1-1 at the end of regulation.
The Eagles defense stood tall in the second half, allowing just two shots, while the Blue and Gold was able to tally nine.
It took just 2:30 for the Eagles to end the game in the extra period as Alexander MacDonald took control of the ball in the Eagles' defensive third and recognized the two-v-two matchup downfield and sent a pass to
Marcus Starke, who was able to corral the ball and get a pass to
Frankie Arias. Arias beat his defender and Coleman was late to react as Arias made a soft touch over the goalkeeper's arms for the game-winner.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Eagles have dominated the all-time series with the Royals, winning 25 times in 28 tries. The Royals and Eagles battled to a 0-0 draw in 2009, and Warner's two wins came in 2008 and 2002. A 2007 win by Warner was later forfeited.
RECORD BREAKERS
The Eagles' win over Ave Maria on Saturday featured many records, including most goals in a game in Eagle history (18), most assists (19), and most points (55). Petersson broke the NAIA record for assists in a game with eight, while Carlson tied Viktor Bergstrand with 17 career shutouts.
90-MINUTE MEN
Only one Eagle has played in every minute (812) of Embry-Riddle's matches in 2013: goalkeeper
Nils Carlson. Defenders
Viktor Hafsteinsson (777),
Alan Vezza (774)
Ally MacDonald (769) and
Tobias Gerber (769) are the next three Eagles on the list. Carlson moved past
Ian Levine for fourth on the all-time goalkeeper mintue list in Eagle history. He stands at 4,170 minutes in his Embry-Riddle career. However, the junior has a ways to go to catch number three on the list Viktor Bergstrand who played 5,051 minutes as an Eagle.
TOP OF THE CONFERENCE
The Eagles hold a 6-0 mark in league play, and with Saturday's win, clinched a berth into The Sun Conference Tournament. Thanks to a Thomas/St. Thomas draw on Sunday, the Eagles are alone with 18 points in league action, followed by Thomas' 16 points and Northwood's 13 points. The Eagles' final four games are against four of the top six teams in the league, Warner - 6th, Webber International - 4th, SCAD Savannah - 5th, Thomas - 2nd).
ONE OF THE ELITE COACHES
Entering his 20th season at the helm of Embry-Riddle Men's Soccer, Dave Gregson ranked 13th in the NAIA on the active winningest coaching list. Gregson's 227-119-25 record through 20 seasons of play gives him a .642 winning percentage.
