Saturday's Live Stats

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara men’s soccer team will take the short trip to Buffalo, N.Y. to battle crosstown rival the Canisius Golden Griffins on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. 
 
Purple Eagles 101
Niagara (7-0-4) will take its current 11 game unbeaten streak to the Koessler Athletic Center, in hopes to keep the team’s best start in program history running.
 
The Purple Eagles have several offensive threats in Callum Willmott (5-1-11) and Bryan Da Cruz (3-4-10).  Ken Cooper and Michael Hanton have also been dangerous up front as each has tallied goals. 
 
Rene De Zorzi has been a rock for the Purps in the defensive end, while also contributing in the attacking third, tallying a career-high three goals which two have been penalty kick markers.   
 
Goalkeeper Brett Petricek has stopped 60 shots so far this season for a .870 save percentage and a 0.75 goals-against average.  He has four shutouts to his name. 
 
NSCAA Division I Men’s North Atlantic Poll
For the seventh-straight week, the Niagara men’s soccer squad has been ranked in the North Atlantic by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).  The Purple Eagles have taken over the top spot for the third week running.  This is the team’s best ranking in the NSCAA North Atlantic poll. 
 
National Recognition
Niagara received recognition in the NSCAA/Continental Tire National Rankings for the third time this season.  The Purps received the most votes they have in its program history this week, 20.  The first week, the Purps received 16 votes while last week Niagara garnered nine votes.  Niagara was the only team in the North Atlantic to collect votes the past two weeks.   

TopDrawerSoccer Mid-Season Poll
Three Purple Eagles have been included in TopDrawerSoccer mid-season individual ranking polls.  Freshman Julian Ekeze earned a spot on the midseason top-100 freshmen list, while Da Cruz and Willmott appeared on the Top 20 MAAC Conference poll.  

Ekeze was ranked 98^th on the National Top 100 freshmen list, whle Da Cruz and Willmott were ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, on the midseason MAAC Top 20 poll.   

Unbeaten in 11
The Purple Eagles remain unbeaten in the 2012 campaign, going 11 games without seeing a loss on the scoresheet.  This is the best start in the program’s history; however the team is one game shy of its program best 12 game unbeaten streak that was accomplished during the 2006 season when Niagara went on a 12 game unbeaten streak, going 5-7 mid-way through the season. 
 
Last season the Purps had six-game unbeaten streak, losing only one of their first nine games. 
 
Scouting The Griffs
Canisius comes to Monteagle Ridge with a 7-3-2 record, and a 0-2-0 conference mark. 
 
Senior Gavin Falconer is tops on the team with eight goals, three helpers and 19 points.  Midfielders Will Hudson and Denver Spearman are tied for second in points with nine, as Hudson as four goals and an assist for the season while Spearman is even at three goals and three assists. 
 
Senior keeper Kareem Gray has played a majority of minutes for the Griffins, totaling 41 saves for a .719 save percentage and a 1.41 goals-against average. 
 
Canisius vs. Niagara
Niagara holds a slim 23-20-3 lead in the all-time record over Canisius in a series that dates back to 1969.  The last time these two teams met was on Oct. 28, 2011 in the final game of the season when NU won 2-0.   The two scores came from Carl Haworth (’12), while Da Cruz contributed an assist.  Petricek finished the game with four saves on the evening to record his sixth shutout of the season. 

Last Time Out
The Purple Eagles began conference play last weekend, coming out with a 1-0-1 record. 

Niagara pulled out an impressive 2-1 victory over the Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds on Friday.  De Zorzi capitalized on a late penalty kick opportunity to lead NU to its first MAAC win of the season.  Cooper scored the first Niagara goal to bring the game level with a 20-yard laser into the upper right corner. 
 
On Sunday, Niagara and Rider battled into extra time, but the contest finished in scoreless draw.  NU held a 6-1 advantage in shots during OT, but could not find the back of the net. 
 
In 200 minutes of playing time, Petricek made six saves for a .857 save percentage and a 0.45 goals-against average.  The shutout verses Rider was his fourth of the season.    
 
Strong Between the Posts
Petricek is currently ranked seventh in the nation with his .870 save percentage, 18th in the nation in saves per game (5.45) and 12th in the nation in total saves (60).  Along with his save percentage and saves, Petricek’s 0.76  goals-against average is first in the MAAC. 
 
Offensive Threat
Niagara has outshot its opponents 20-9 in 11 games.  The Purple Eagles hold a 10-3 advantage in the opening 45 minutes of play while also holding a slim nine to six lead in goals in the second half. 
 
Next Up for NU
After Saturday’s contest, Niagara continues its three-game road trip with two conference matchups, starting with Siena on Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. and wrapping up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. with a battle against Marist on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m.