GAMEDAY CENTRAL
#11 Embry-Riddle (10-1, 8-0) at SCAD Savannah (7-4, 5-3)
DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013
CITY: Hardeeville, S.C.
SITE: SCAD Athletics Complex
START: 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 5 GAMES: 5-0
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 10 GAMES: 9-1
EMBRY-RIDDLE ON THE ROAD IN 2013: 5-0
SCAD SAVANNAH AT HOME IN 2013: 3-2
AT A GLANCE
Embry-Riddle has a chance to wrap up the 2013 Sun Conference regular season title this week with a win in either of its final two games against SCAD Savannah or Thomas. ERAU has a four point lead over Thomas while each team has two games remaining.
ABOUT THE BEES
SCAD is 7-4 overall with a 5-3 mark in league action with wins against Northwood and St. Thomas highlighting their schedule. The Bees are led by sophomore forward Jordan Trinci-Lyne who has scored nine goals and assisted on four others for a team-leading 22 points.
Goalkeeper Ali Basir is 2-0 in a pair of starts in the Bees' last two contests. SCAD will be looking to get into the second spot in the conference with a pair of wins in their final two games against the Eagles and Night Hawks.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Oct. 17, 2012 - DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A goal in the second half was the difference maker in October's Sun Conference match between the Embry-Riddle and SCAD Savannah men's soccer teams, as that score gave the Bees (8-5-1, 6-2-1) a 1-0 victory over the Eagles. The decision snapped a four-game win streak for the Eagles who went to 4-8-1 overall and 4-3-1 in league play.
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The Eagles created a few chances to score in the first 45 minutes, including headers by
Ally MacDonald and
Veit Couturier that sailed just high of the mark.
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The Bees' best chance of the half came with just 10 seconds remaining. Steve Dowling hit a low shot that was blocked by ERAU goalkeeper
Nils Carlson. The rebound fell to Brinton Nute, but his attempt was blocked by the Eagles' defense, resulting in a scoreless tie at the break.
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The Bees broke the deadlock in the 56th minute when ERAU failed to clear a Carlson save. The ball fell to Nial Doherty whose cross made its way John McAleenan. McAleelan slipped on the wet playing surface as he took the shot, but got enough on the ball to find the back of the net and give SCAD a one-goal advantage.
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With 10:31 remaining in the contest, a combination play on the right side of the field culminated with Couturier having the ball at his feet with some space at the top of the 18-yard box. Couturier released the shot, but SCAD goalkeeper Josh Brown managed to get his fingertips to the ball and push it wide of the goal to keep the Blue and Gold off the scoreboard.
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SCAD outshot the Eagles 16-12, but both teams were even in shots on goal with four apiece. Carlson finished with three saves while Brown collected four saves for the Bees.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Eagles hold a 19-7-1 overall advantage in the all-time series, but recently, the series has been tightly contested. In the last seven matchups, each team has won three times and a draw occured in late 2009 in the conference tournament where ultimately the Eagles advanced on penalty kicks.
SEASON LEADERS
A few Eagles will be looking to cement their seasons amongst the program's best over the final three regular season games followed by the postseason.
Nicklas Petersson (33) needs five more points to break into the top 10 season point leaders, while he (9) and
Sigurbergur Elisson (10) need to reach 15 goals to reach the top 10. Elisson's three game-winning goals rank just outside the top 10, and
Nils Carlson's 1.00 GAA would rank tied for sixth if the season ended today and his six shutouts would rank fifth.
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 229-119-25 record through 20 seasons of play gives him a .647 winning percentage.
