Embry-Riddle vs. SCAD Savannah Match Notes

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle (5-2-3, 5-1-1) vs. SCAD Savannah (8-2-2, 7-0-1)
DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: ERAU Soccer Stadium
START: 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Embry-Riddle Gameday Network
LIVE VIDEO: Embry-Riddle Gameday Network
LIVE AUDIO: Embry-Riddle Gameday Network
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 5 GAMES: 4-0-1
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 10 GAMES: 5-2-3
SCAD SAVANNAH'S LAST 5 GAMES: 5-0
SCAD SAVANNAH'S LAST 10 GAMES: 8-0-2

EAGLES LOOKING TO WIN FOUR IN ROW
Embry-Riddle is riding a three game win streak and has put together a 5-0-1 record in the month of October.  The Eagles are coming off a 2-0 road victory over Webber International, ERAU's third shutout in as many games.  The Eagles are currently third in the Sun Conference standings with 16 points, trailing SCAD Savannah (22) and Thomas (19). 
 
With a penalty kick goal against Webber, Eagle senior Veit Couturier extended his consecutive matches with a point streak to ten games.  Couturier's 123 career points rank second in school history, 13 behind Eagle great Jasmin Kadric (136).  Couturier also leads The Sun Conference with 13 goals on the season.  With 50 career goals the senior is just five scores shy of breaking Kadric's program record for career goals (54).
 
Daniel Gylfason picked up an assist against Webber on a goal by Viktor Hafsteinsson.  Gylfason has been a major contributor for ERAU in his rookie campaign.  The freshman paces the squad with 6 assists and is second on the team with 14 points. 
 
Senior goalkeeper Nils Carlson, the reigning Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Week, has picked up a shutout in four of the Eagles last five matches and is tied for the league lead with 52 saves on the year. 


ABOUT THE WARRIORS
SCAD Savannah enters Saturday's match with a 8-2-2 overall record and sits atop the Sun Conference standings with a 7-0-1 record in league play.  The Bees are in the midst of a seven game win streak and have not lost a match since dropping their first two contests of the season.
 
Junior Jordan Trinci-Lyne leads SCAD with seven goals this season.  The Bees have played excellent defense throughout their 2014 campaign, only allowing eight total goals and 117 shots.  SCAD goalkeeper Fernando Zeledon has put up a stellar save percentage of .939.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Nov. 15, 2013 - DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 10th-ranked Embry-Riddle men's soccer team suffered its third loss of the season on Friday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. The top seed in The Sun Conference tournament, the Eagles (13-3) fell to No. 4 seed SCAD Savannah (10-6), 3-1, in the tournament semifinals, moving their record to 13-3 on the year.

SCAD came out strong to start the game and tested ERAU goalkeeper Nils Carlson early, as he was forced to make an acrobatic save on a shot by Naim El-Harrati.

A few minutes later, the Eagles got their first scoring chance of the contest when Sigurberger Elisson rocketed a shot toward the SCAD goal forcing Ali Bassir to make an acrobatic save of his own.

ERAU was able to keep the Bees pinned in their defensive half for much of the next 10 minutes, but the momentum began to shift in the Bees' favor and at the 25:53 mark, SCAD put the first point on the scoreboard. Theo Angus played a ball through the heart of the midfield. Alex Jamroz timed his run perfectly and was able to get the ball at his feet in behind the Eagle defense. Jamroz raced in on goal and took advantage of a one-v-one situation with ERAU goalkeeper Nils Carlson to put the Bees up 1-0.

The Bees widened the gap four minutes later when Jordan Trinci-Lyne finished a Will Oswin cross to make the score 2-0. The SCAD defense was able to hold the Eagles' offense in check through the remainder of the half and maintained the two-goal lead at the intermission.

The Eagles got a goal back early in the second frame when Veit Couturier pounced on a poorly played ball by the SCAD defense and rifled a shot into the left side netting to make the score 2-1 with just under 40 minutes remaining in the contest.

At the 59:30 mark, the Eagles had a chance to even the score with a beautifully choreographed free kick, but the final touch skidded just to the right of the mark to help SCAD hold on to its one-goal lead.

With just under 14 minutes left on the clock, Carlson made a brilliant save on a point blank shot by Angus, pushing the ball over the cross bar for a SCAD corner. On the ensuing set piece, Sergi Saurus was able to volley Jose Izurieta's cross past Carlson to seal the 3-1 win for the Bees.

The Bees advance to Saturday's semifinal where they will face No. 2 seed Thomas at 6 p.m. in a battle to determine who gets the league's automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship. The Eagles will wait to see if their Modified Ratings Percentage Index is high enough to grab a spot in the national tournament field. The MRPI will be released by the NAIA on Sunday afternoon.

FINAL NAIA SEASON
The Eagles will close out their NAIA program history in the 2014 season as the Embry-Riddle Athletic Department will begin transitioning to NCAA II and the Sunshine State Conference. 2014-15 marks Candidacy Year One for the Embry-Riddle program, followed by Candidacy Year Two in 2015-16 and Provisional Membership in 2016-17.

If Embry-Riddle continues to meet all of the NCAA and SSC requirements, the Eagles will become full-fledged members of the NCAA II and the Sunshine State Conference in 2017-18.

EAGLES RANKED No. 9 IN PRESEASON POLL
Following a succesful 2013 season, the Eagles received preseason recognition from the NAIA Coaches' Poll as Embry-Riddle was slotted ninth in the preseason poll.

ERAU was also chosen to repeat as Sun Conference regular season champions by the league coaches, earning four first-place votes and 93 total points in the poll.

2014 Sun Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
1. Embry-Riddle - 93 (4)
2. Thomas - 91 (4)
3. Northwood - 77 (2)
4. SCAD Savannah - 76 (1)
5. Florida Memorial - 58
6. St. Thomas - 56
7. Southeastern - 45
8. Webber International - 37
9. Warner - 32
10. Johnson & Wales - 24
11. Ave Maria - 16

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team

NUMBERS TO WATCH
5,992 - Career Minutes played by Nils Carlson, second-most all-time in program history.
238 - Wins in Head Coach Dave Gregson's 20-year tenure at Embry-Riddle.
123 - Veit Couturier's career point total. He trails all-time leader Jasmin Kadric by 13 points.
20 - All-time wins against the Bees in ERAU history, compared to eight losses and one tie.
16 - Points in the league table for the Blue and Gold
1.3 - Goals per game for Couturier in his senior campaign

GREGSON REMAINS ONE OF NAIA'S ELITE
Dave Gregson will coach his 21st season at Embry-Riddle in 2014, and the Eagles' manager holds distinction amongst his NAIA peers. Gregson's 238 victories at ERAU rank 14th on the NAIA's active winningest coaching list, while his .650 winning percentage ranks 10th amongst those coaches.