PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's men's soccer squad (6-6-1, 3-1-0 A-10) hits the road to face George Washington (6-3-5, 1-1-2 A-10) this Saturday, October 15 in Atlantic 10 action. Start time at the GW Soccer Field in Washington, D.C. is slated for 2:00 p.m. Live streaming of the match will be provided via the Atlantic 10 Network.
With nine points, Saint Joseph's is in a tie with Saint Louis (3-0 A-10) for first place in league standings, while George Washington sits fourth with five points.
Saint Joseph's was predicted to finish 11th in the A-10 regular-season, per the 2016 A-10 Men's Soccer Preseason Poll. George Washington was voted into a tie for fifth.
The Hawks fell to Davidson on Wednesday, 2-1, but have won three of their last four, while the Colonials have either won or tied six of their last seven matches.
The reigning Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week and Philadelphia Soccer Six Co-Player of the Week, Saint Joseph's junior midfielder Matt Crawford leads the squad in scoring with 17 points on a team-best seven goals and team-best three assists. In conference matches, Crawford leads the A-10 in total points (10), points per game (2.50), and total goals (4) and ties for first in goals per game (1.00).
Senior forward Mori Diane and sphomore forwards Isaac Agyapong and Derek MacKinnon have added two goals apiece, with Agyapong netting SJU's first goal in program history against Davidson on Wednesday.
Junior goalkeeper Greg O'Connell (6-6-1, 3-1-0 A-10) sports a 1.05 goals against average and .788 save percentage in all 1200:44. Through 13 starts, O'Connell has made 52 saves against just 14 goals allowed to go with five shutouts.
George Washington enters Saturday's match coming off of a 3-0 road win at George Mason on Wednesday. Garrett Heine scored twice and added an assist in the win and leads the Colonials with 13 points (4g, 5a). Thor Arne Hofs (5-3-5, 1-1-2 A-10) owns a 0.63 goals against average and .859 save percentage in 1283:56 to go with seven shutouts. In A-10 play, the Colonials opened the season with draws with Fordham, 0-0, and VCU, 2-2, fell in overtime to Duquesne, 1-0, and defeated George Mason, 3-0.
The Colonials own a 17-7-3 all-time series advantage, and SJU is 1-3-1 against GW under the direction of head coach Don D'Ambra. The squads have gone into double overtime the last two times out, with GW taking a 1-0 double-overtime win on Sweeney Field last season and the teams battling to a 1-1 draw at GW in 2014. Saint Joseph's last win over George Washington came in 2013.
