Newburgh, N.Y. – Playing its first game since September 18, the Mount Saint Mary College Men's Soccer team returns to action on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. kick-off with league rival St. Joseph's-Brooklyn at Kaplan Field. The Knights will then finish off the week with a road tilt at the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday at noon.
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary has dropped its last two decisions, including a 5-0 loss to current #9/3 Rutgers-Newark on September 18 and stands at 3-5 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Mount's last win came in a 2-1 conference triumph over Yeshiva on September 13.
The Knights feature six different players with at least one goal, led by junior
Joey Dolan (New Paltz, N.Y.) with six tallies and a team-high 13 points.
Joseph Sadofsky (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) and
Matt Fuge (Avon, Conn.) have supported the scoring attack with a pair of goals each.
Fred Stark (Hollis, N.Y.) leads the team with three assists and is tied for second on the team with five points and is the only player on the team with more than one helper entering Wednesday's contest.
In goal, the Knights have used four keepers, with
Jakup Myrtja (Newburgh, N.Y.) and
Tyler Rapp (East Berne, N.Y.) seeing the bulk of the action. Myrtja has started five games for the Knights and has made 32 saves, while Rapp has started three contests and made 11 saves and earned a pair of wins.
Among the Skyline Conference leaders, Dolan sits tied for third in goals and points, while Myrtja sits fourth in both saves and save percentage (.727). Stark is tied for third in assists for the Knights.
Last Time Out: The Knights were shutout for the second time in 2017 on September 18 at Rutgers-Newark. The Mount was outshot 21-13 in the game, with Dolan leading the team with five attempts and the team's only shot on goal. Myrtja made five saves for the Mount in just under 78 minutes of action.
Scouting St. Joseph's-Brooklyn: The Bears come to town winless (0-5-1) in six outings and are coming off a tough 2-1 defeat to the College of Mount Saint Vincent on September 23. The goal the Bears scored was the first time they had found the back of the net since the second game of the season.
The Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead against the Dolphins on Kenneth Garcia's second goal of the season, but saw Mount Saint Vincent even the score just under two minutes later and tally the game winner with just over two minutes left in regulation time.
Garcia has scored the team's only two goals of the season as the Bears are being outscored 24-2 through six contests. Brandon Georges has recorded the team's lone assist on the year.
In goal, Julian Rodriguez holds a 1.47 goals against average and has made 21 saves to go along with a .778 save percentage. Rodriguez ranks second in the Skyline Conference beginning the week in save percentage.
Previewing The Dolphins: Mount Saint Vincent enters a Wednesday tilt with St. Joseph's-L.I. atop the conference standings at 2-0 in league play and 4-3 overall. The Knights have won their last two outings, posting a 2-1 win over St. Joseph's-Brooklyn and a 7-0 victory over Pratt on September 24.
Andrew Gomez paces Mount Saint Vincent with four goals heading into the week with Khari Greene ranked for a tie for ninth in the conference with a pair of assists. Astrinidis Padelis has made 18 saves in goal for the Mount and holds a .600 save percentage.
What's Next: The Knights continue their string of alternating home and road tilts next week when they play host to Sarah Lawrence on October 3 and travel to Old Westbury on October 7.
