Oct. 29, 2014
BUY TICKETS | Complete 2014 Schedule | LMU on Facebook |
LOS ANGELES - Coming off of a much needed nearly two-week break from competition, the LMU men's soccer team resumes West Coast Conference play on Friday, Oct. 31, traveling to face Portland at 7 p.m. The two-match road trip concludes on Sunday in Spokane, Wash., against Gonzaga. Kick off is scheduled for noon.
The Lions enter the second week of WCC play with a 7-4-3 overall mark. Their 1-1-0 league mark is a result of a 4-0 shutout of Pacific and a 2-0 setback to Saint Mary's.
LMU leads all WCC teams with 25 goals and 29 assists, while also holding the league's lowest goals against average at 0.81.
Sebastian De Rada,
Adrien Perez and
Craig Nitti have each scored five times while De Rada is also the team leader in assists with five. Perez,
Jack McCracken and freshman
Alvaro Madrigal have four assists apiece.
Vince Paldino and
Paul Blanchette have each made seven starts in goal. Paldino has four shutouts and his 0.57 GAA makes him the only WCC goalkeeper with a GAA below 1.00.
Portland is 4-6-3 overall and 0-1-0 in WCC play after dropping a 3-2 decision to San Francisco on Oct. 17. The Pilots have scored 19 goals through 13 matches, including four each from Michael Escobar and Eddie Sanchez. Escobar also has three assists for a team high 11 points. In goal, Paul Christensen has played every minute, posting three shutouts and a 1.30 GAA to go along with 59 saves.
Gonzaga enters the week at 3-10-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the WCC. The Zags host San Diego on Friday before facing LMU on Sunday. They picked up a 2-1 victory at Santa Clara to open league play nearly two weeks ago, before settling for a split on the opening weekend, falling 2-1 in double overtime at San Francisco. Four players have scored twice each while the team has just 12 total goals on the year. Ben Willis and Chris Lowrimore have both seen time in goal, combining for a 1.89 GAA.
FOLLOW THE LIONS LMU at Portland - Friday, Oct. 31 @ 7:00 pm - Merlo Field
Live Stats |
Live Video LMU vs. Gonzaga - Sunday, Nov. 2 @ 12:00 pm - Luger Field
Live Stats |
Watch Live on theW.tv LION NOTES •
Craig Nitti and
Adrien Perez were named to the 11-member John Rennie/Nike Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Senior defender
Craig Nitti was named to the 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
• LMU was the preseason pick to repeat as West Coast Conference Champions, earning six first place votes.
• Five Lions were named to the 11-member All-WCC Preseason Team including
Craig Nitti,
John McFarlin,
Adrien Perez,
Paul Blanchette and
Sebastian De Rada.
•
Craig Nitti and
Adrien Perez were named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's College Soccer Preseason and Midseason Top 100 Players list.
•
Craig Nitti was named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 5), as well as the College Sports Madness WCC Player of the Week, after scoring a pair of goals against Santa Clara and San Francisco that helped lead the Lions to a 1-0-1 weekend. • After not scoring a goal through the first seven matches,
Craig Nitti found the back of the net five times in a five-match stretch. The Lions went unbeaten in the stretch at 4-0-1. • LMU has scored four goals in a match three times this year, matching the highest scoring output since a 5-4 win over San Francisco in 2008. The feat was reached most recently in a 4-0 shutout of Pacific on Oct. 19. •
Adrien Perez scored his 16th career goal versus UCSB (Oct. 14) putting him in tie for 7th in the LMU career goals record book.
SERIES HISTORY VS PORTLAND Recent history has gone LMU's way against Portland as the Lions are 7-2-0 in the last nine meetings. That mark includes the last three straight including a 2-1 victory at Merlo Field and a 4-3 final at Sullivan Field to account for last year's home-and-home series.
SERIES HISTORY VS GONZAGA The Lions have won six of their last nine meetings against Gonzaga, but the Zags took the two-match series last year, holding on for a pair of one-gaol wins. LMU and Gonzaga have played five overtime matches since 2008 (12 total meetings during that span).
