NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara men’s soccer team (1-4-1) is back in action this weekend when it plays host to St. Bonaventure on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. and Robert Morris on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on a tape-delay by LCTV, and will air Sunday evening at 9 p.m. on cable channel 20.

The Purple Eagles return to Niagara Field for a five-game homestand, following five-straight road games. In its last game, NU dropped a tough 1-0 match to Bucknell, in which the Bison won the game on a crushing final-minute tally.

On the season, the Purple Eagles have received strong play from sophomore goalkeeper John Fiutowski (Ottawa, Ont.), who continues to lead the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in nearly every save category. Fiutowski’s 9.67 saves-per-game average tops the conference by more than two per game.

With Fiutowski proving his worth as Niagara’s last line of defense, the Purple Eagle’s offensive has stepped up its play recently. Following some tweaking of the lineup, head coach Dermot McGrane seems to have found a combination that works. After failing to score a goal in its first two games, Niagara is averaging a goal-a-game in its last four contests.

Matthew Durand (Melbourne, Australia) seems to have found his groove in the Niagara lineup as the junior college transfer has scored a goal in two of Niagara’s last three games and leads the team in points. Junior Joe Skinner (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and freshman Desmond Betteto (Sarnia, Ont.) have also found the back of the net this season.

Meanwhile, St. Bonaventure (2-3-1), whose last three games have gone into overtime, is led by Nikola Vasilev with four goals. The Bonnies are 1-1-1 in overtime games and have conceded more than a single goal on only one occasion this season, a 2-1 overtime loss to Buffalo. In addition to Buffalo, which defeated Niagara 2-0 earlier in the year, St. Bonaventure and Niagara have both faced Cleveland State this season. Niagara fell 2-0 to CSU, while the Bonnies posted a 3-1 win. Niagara and the Bonnies met up last season, with the Purple Eagles earning a 3-1 road win to bring the all-time series record between the two teams to 24-12-3 in favor of St. Bonaventure.

Robert Morris (5-2-1) is coming off a 0-0 tie to West Virginia Wesleyan and is led in scoring by Jacek Przednowek, whose five goals represent half the team’s total output. RMU is undefeated at home (2-0-1) and own a spotless 2-0-0 record on the road. Their only blemish has come on neutral ground, where the team is 1-2-0. The Colonials own a 2-0 win over Duquesne, a team Niagara forced to a 2-2 tie last Friday. Robert Morris leads the all-time series 6-1-0, including a 1-0 overtime win last season.