PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's men's soccer squad (3-5-1) will open Atlantic 10 Conference action at St. Bonaventure (1-7-1) this Saturday, October 1. Start time at the Marra Athletics Complex in St. Bonaventure, N.Y. is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The Hawks are 3-2 on the road this season, winning three of their last four away from Hawk Hill.
Saint Joseph's was predicted to finish 11th in the A-10 regular-season, per the 2016 A-10 Men's Soccer Preseason Poll. St. Bonaventure was voted 13th.
Saint Joseph's junior midfielder Matt Crawford leads the squad in scoring with seven points on a team-best three goals to go with one assist. Senior forward Mori Diane and sophomore transfer forward Isaac Agyapong have also contributed one goal apiece for SJU while senior midfielder Bliss Harris, senior defender Mike Stuski, junior defender Kevin Lockhart, and sophomore forward Derek MacKinnon have added assists. The reigning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, junior goalkeeper Greg O'Connell (3-4-1) sports a 1.07 goals against average and .804 save percentage in all 840:44. Through nine starts, O'Connell has made 41 saves against just 10 goals allowed to go with four shutouts.
St. Bonaventure enters Saturday's match-up at 1-7-1 with a win over Niagara and draw with Bucknell. Jacob Dyck and Kieran Toland lead the Bonnies in scoring with two goals apiece while Luke Iacobellis (0-4-1) owns a 2.84 goals against average and .700 save percentage in 475:06, more than half of the time in net.
The Bonnies own a 13-10-1 all-time series edge over the Hawks, but SJU is 3-2 under the direction of head coach Don D'Ambra and has won the last two meetings. The Hawks came away with a 4-1 win in the regular-season finale last fall; Crawford and Diane put away one goal apiece while in his collegiate debut, O'Connell made four saves for his first collegiate win.
Led by senior captains Harris and Stuski, SJU returns 19 Hawks, including nine starters and its entire defensive core, and sports a roster of seven seniors, eight juniors, four sophomores, and nine newcomers this fall. Harris, Stuski, Crawford, Diane, O'Connell, and junior defender Ben Zambetti have started all nine matches.
