Men's Soccer Heads South for Two WCC Games
10/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 13, 2003
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This Week: The Saint Mary's men's soccer team travels to San Diego, CA on Friday to face the San Diego Toreros at 5 p.m. before facing the Loyola Marymount Lions on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Los Angeles.
Saint Mary's on the Web: Gael fans can access all the latest news and notes about Saint Mary's athletics on the web at www.SMCGaels.com. The official website offers the most up to date information and results of the Gaels' 15 intercollegiate sports plus much more.
Scouting the Toreros: San Diego comes into the week with a 7-2-2 overall record, and will play its West Coast Conference opener on Friday against the Gaels. Last week the Toreros beat the San Diego State Aztecs 3-0 and beat Cal State Northridge 3-1. So far this season the Toreros have been led by Eric Wunderle who has three goals and six assists for 12 points. San Diego is also led by Sy Reeves, Scott Burcar, Kevin Wilson and Michael Caso who each have six points. San Diego goalkeeper Lance Friese leads the team with a 7-2-2 record, has recorded five shut outs and has a 0.44 goals against average. San Diego has played three common opponents, losing to Oregon State 2-1, beating UC Riverside 3-0 and Cal State Northridge 3-1. The Gaels lost to Oregon State 2-0, UC Riverside 1-0 and Cal State Northridge 4-3. The Toreros hold a 16-3-2 series lead, the last meeting coming in 2002, a 2-0 San Diego victory.
Scouting the Lions: Loyola Marymount comes into the week with an 8-3-1 overall record, and will play its West Coast Conference opener on Friday against the University of San Francisco. Last week the Lions beat the No. 19-ranked San Jose State Spartans 2-1 in overtime. So far this season the Lions have been led by Kevin Novak who has recorded 17 points on eight goals and one assist. LMU's Michael Brush has 10 points on two goals and six assists and Bobby Burling, Denny Williams and Matthew Kovar each have seven points. LMU goalkeeper Shaun Kalnasy has an 8-1-1 record, has posted three shut outs and has a 0.88 goals against average. LMU has played two common opponents, playing to a 0-0 tie against Sacramento State and beating UC Riverside 3-0. The Gaels lost to Sacramento State and UC Riverside both by scores of 1-0. The Gaels hold a 12-6 series lead, the last meeting coming in 2002, a 2-1 LMU victory.
Week in Review: The Saint Mary's men's soccer team lost their West Coast Conference opener 6-1 to the Portland Pilots on Sunday in Portland. With the loss, the Gaels drop to 0-1 in conference play and 5-8 on the season. Saint Mary's cut the Pilots' lead to 3-1 in the 43rd minute when newcomer Jacobus Houpman scored the Gaels' only goal. Matthew Fitzgerald centered a cross to Houpman who one-timed a shot past Pilot keeper Luis Robles. It was Houpman's first goal of the season. Last week the Gaels played in one game, the first time all season they only had one game in a week. Saint Mary's played the first half of its game with the Pilots pretty even, with each team taking seven shots and the Gaels having four corner kicks to the Pilots' one. Saint Mary's goalkeeper Kellan Wilson added three saves in the game.
Player of the Week: The Gaels were led by Matthew Fitzgerald who recorded an assist in Saint Mary's loss to the Pilots. Fitzgerald's assist gives him three assists on the season, with two goals for a total of seven points. Fitzgerald now ranks second on the team in points, two behind leader Jon Bernal.
Leaderboard: Moving to the top of the leaderboard is Jon Bernal. Bernal had two goals against the Monterey Bay Otters, giving him four goals and one assist on the season, totaling nine points. Behind Bernal is freshman Matt Fitzgerald who has two goals and three assists for seven points and is followed by Patrick Lower, Adam Zielske, Anthony Butler, Diego Rovira and Matt Walker, who each have five points.
Rammel Honored: Saint Mary's head coach Steve Rammel had his jersey retired when he returned to Rutgers University on Friday, October 3. Rammel, an All-American in 1989 and 1990, was honored in between the Gaels' game and the Rutgers game on Friday in Piscataway, NJ. Rammel was a runner-up for the 1990 Hermann Trophy that goes to the top college soccer player in America. In 1990, Rammel scored 17 goals and assisted on nine others. In two years at Rutgers, he scored 34 career goals and 16 assists for 84 points. He is currently the Scarlet Knights eighth ranked all-time scorer.
Saint Mary's Head Coach: In his third year as the head coach of the Saint Mary's men's soccer team is Steve Rammel (Rutgers, 1990). During his time here the program has placed six players to the All-West Coast Conference team and has broken a school record for most consecutive shutouts. The 2002 season saw 20 first time players at Saint Mary's with 15 of them being freshman. Of the 15 freshman, 10 saw significant playing time. 2003 will have a similar look with 75 percent of the team being made up of freshmen and sophomores. After two years as head coach of the Gaels Rammel's record now stands at 10-24-4 overall and 1-11-1 in West Coast Conference action.
West Coast Conference Preseason Poll: The Gaels were picked to finish seventh in the West Coast Conference according to the conference's coaches who predict the finish of the seven teams. This year Portland was picked by the coaches to finish atop the standings with 29 total points and two first place votes. San Diego and Santa Clara share the second spot with 28 points and two first place votes, followed by San Francisco, Loyola Marymount and Gonzaga, respectively.
Week in Advance: The Gaels return to Garaventa Field on Sunday, October 26 when they face the University of San Francisco at 3 p.m.
MSOC | Game Highlights vs. Santa Clara
Thursday, October 16
MSOC | Bentley PK save and Toelhoej penalty goal, 1-1 draw vs. Seattle U
Saturday, September 27
MSOC | Saint Mary's vs. UC Davis Game Highlights
Thursday, September 04
MSOC | Postgame Interview vs. Cal Poly
Monday, August 26
