VIDEO: MEN'S SOCCER ON THE ROAD AGAINST LETHBRIDGE AND ALBERTA

SOCCER (CANADA WEST)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEN'S SOCCER ON THE ROAD AGAINST LETHBRIDGE AND ALBERTA

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The men's soccer team is back in the Canada West mix after picking up all six points last weekend in wins over Victoria (2-0) and Fraser Valley (3-0). The Spartans will now go on the road for a pair of games in Lethbridge Saturday and Calgary Sunday hoping to improve upon their 2-1-0 record.

SPARTANS (2-1-0)
CIS Ranking: No. 7
Canada West Standing: 5th
Last Week: Victoria 2-0 W, Fraser Valley 3-0 W
Streak: 2 Wins
2009 conference record: 8-2-4 (2nd)
2009 CW Championship: 0-2 (4th)
2009 CIS Championship: 2-1 (3rd)
Last CW title: 2007
Last CIS title: N/A
TWU Lifetime vs Lethbridge: 16-2-0
TWU Lifetime vs. Calgary: 20-4-3

After starting the season with a rocky 3-0 loss at UBC, the Spartans got back on track in a big way in their home-opening weekend with shutout wins over Victoria Friday (2-0) and Fraser Valley Saturday (3-0).

Led by Canada West athlete of the week goalkeeper Andrew Fink, who made seven saves in posting back-to-back clean sheets, the Spartans overcame a number of injuries to key players and put together a pair of solid contests.

So far this year, TWU has received offence from a variety of areas as seven players have at least one point and only Garrett Peters (two goals) and Danfi Parker (one goal and one assist) have two points. Brazilian first-year Andre Costa, who got his first goal of the season Friday, has been a solid addition has he leads the team in shots with 11 (6th in CW) and shots on goal with six (4th in CW).

Defensively, the Spartans are third in CW with a 1.00 goals against average but all three of the goals surrendered came in their opening-week contest against UBC.

Between the posts, Fink has been perfect thus far as he is tied for the CW lead with a 0.00 goals against average and a 1.000 save percentage and is second in the conference with two shutouts.

The key for the Spartans will be to continue to receive contributions from all over the field as they once again were hit by injuries last weekend and, in what is becoming the norm, will be starting a rather youthful squad this weekend.

PRONGHORNS (1-3-0)
CIS Ranking: N/A
Canada West Standing: 6th
Last Week: Saskatchewan 8-0 L, Alberta 4-1
Streak: 2 Losses
2009 conference record: 2-7-5 (7th)
2009 CW Championship: N/A
2009 CIS Championship: N/A
Last CW title: N/A
Last CIS title: N/A
Lethbridge Lifetime vs TWU: 0-16-2

The Pronghorns will host the Spartans Saturday after a weekend that can only be described as a debacle. Lethbridge, having posted a 1-1 record in the opening weekend of Canada West action, was trounced 8-0 by Saskatchewan on Saturday and then 4-1 by Alberta the following afternoon.

Through four games, the Pronghorns have allowed the most goals in Canada West with 14 and have scored the second fewest with two.

Defensively, Lethbridge is third in the conference with 23 saves for an average of 5.75 saves per game and goalie Colin Pattison is third in CW with an .833 save percentage and is fifth in the conference in both goals against average (1.26) and saves (15).

The Pronghorns are a team that will rely on a few key veterans mixed in with a number of fresh faced youngsters. Although Blake Irvine is only in his first year, the rookie striker has already made an impact scoring Lethbridge’s only goal last weekend and having fired eight shots in four games this year.

Fourth-year defender Brett Silbernagel is also one to watch as he’s the only other Lethbridge scorer this year and is tied for third on the team with six shots. Other notable veterans on the pitch for the Pronghorns include fifth-year striker Andrew Malcolm, who’s tied with Irvine for the team lead in shots and third-year Matt Medoruma who led the team in scoring last year with four goals.

DINOS (2-1-1)
CIS Ranking: N/A
Canada West Standing: 3rd (tied)
Last Week: Alberta 3-1 L, Saskatchewan 1-1 T
Streak: 1 Tie
2009 conference record:  4-7-3 (5th)
2009 CW Championship: N/A
2009 CIS Championship: N/A
Last CW title: 1980
Last CIS title: N/A
Calgary Lifetime vs TWU: 4-20-3

On Sunday, the Calgary Dinos will host Trinity Western in an effort to get regain some lost momentum after falling from the realm of the undefeated last weekend thanks to a 3-1 loss to Alberta and a 1-1 draw with Saskatchewan.

The Dinos started the year with a pair of home field wins over Victoria (3-0) and Fraser Valley (4-2) but struggled upon meeting some stiffer competition. Despite last weekend’s setback, the Dinos still maintain a formidable offensive establishment as they are tied for second in CW with nine goals this year and tied for fourth with 13 shots per game.

Offensively, the Dinos have relied on the trio of Izak Lawrence (three goals), Brian Delaney (three goals) and Jeremy Jenkyns (two goals) for all but one of the teams goals. Delaney and Lawrence are tied for the CW lead in goals while Jenkyns is tied for sixth. Delaney is also third in CW with 3.25 shots per game.

Although Calgary’s offence has put up substantial numbers, the back end has been just okay as they’ve given up six goals in four games (5th in CW). Although the defensive numbers aren’t stellar, the Dinos back line will likely still be a tough group to crack as they are stocked with veterans as fifth-year Matthew Reid, fourth-year Dustin Ruddell and third-years Ilya Zelinskiy and Jeff Marsden have started every game thus far.

In goal, fifth-year keeper JP Crescenzi has played every minute of every game this year and is sixth in CW with a 1.50 goals against average and is fifth with a .778 save percentage.


-TW

Last Updated: 2010-09-22
Author: Mark Janzen