Tues./Sat., Sept. 1/5 – vs. Long Island Univ. (Hamilton, N.Y.), at Binghamton (Binghamton, N.Y.), 4 p.m./7 p.m.

The Colgate men's soccer team will open its fall 2009 season this week when they host Long Island University at 4 p.m. on Van Doren Field.  The Raiders will then travel to face area rival, Binghamton on Saturday at 7 p.m.

 

Long Island –  The Blackbird men's soccer team will open their season at Colgate late Tuesday afternoon. Long Island finished the 2008 season 8-9-1, its winningest season within the past four years.  The squad returns eight starters for 2009, including last year's leading scorer Steve Jakubowski.  Sophomore Adam Janssen returns in goal this season after tallying four shutouts as a freshman.

Binghamton -  The Bearcats open their season against Syracuse on Tuesday before hosting Colgate Saturday at 7 p.m.  Binghamton finished the 2008 season with a 12-6-3 record and advanced to the America East title game for the sixth straight season.  The Bearcats, who return seven starters to this year's squad were picked to finish second in the America East preseason coaches' poll.  Sophomore Andy Tiedt returns as the Blackbirds offensive leader, while senior goalkeeper Jason Stenta will headline Binghamton in goal.

 

The Raiders last took the field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when they went on the road to face Boston College back on Nov. 21, 2008.  Colgate fell to the Eagles 2-0 in that game.

 

Colgate and the Blackbirds have met only once, back in 1979 when Long Island shutout the Raiders 1-0. Colgate and the Bearcats have met a total of 21 times, with Binghamton leading the series 10-8-3.  Last year's match-up ended in a 1-1 tie with Colgate's leading scorer, Alex Weekes scoring the Raiders only goal of the game. 

 

For the second year in a row the Colgate men's soccer team was selected to finish first in the Patriot League preseason poll.  The Raiders collected the most points with 95 and most first-place votes with 12.  Last year Colgate won both the regular season and championship titles adding to its championship title from the 2007 season.  

 

The Raiders have a record of 2-1-1 on opening day under head coach Erik Ronning.  Colgate has won its home opener every year out of the past four.

 

Head coach Erik Ronning will begin his fifth season at the helm of the Colgate men's soccer program.  In just four short years, Ronning has brought the Raiders to the Patriot League Tournament four times and won the title the past two seasons to earn consecutive NCAA Tournament bids. With a Colgate win total of 38 games, Ronning will look to earn his 50th career victory during the 2009 season.  

 

The Raiders return a strong group of student-athletes this year including seven starters while adding eight talented newcomers to the program. Headlining the returners are Colgate's top five scorers from last season, Alex Weekes (Stroudsburg, Pa.), Steven Miller (Ivyland, Pa.), Chris Ross (Hurst, Texas), Matt Schuber (Webster, N.Y.) and Jeff Leach (New Canaan, Conn.).  Sophomore Chris Miller (Dallas, Texas) will anchor the Raiders in goal after starting in two games last year as well as the second half of the Tournament game against Boston College.

 

Two Colgate soccer players have been recognized by national organizations so far this season. Senior forward Alex Weekes has been named to the 2009 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List.  The List is comprised of the 38 best men's Division I intercollegiate soccer players and is college soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy.  In addition, freshman midfielder Mike Reidy (Webster, N.Y.) was selected as one of College Soccer News' 100 Freshman to Keep An Eye On in 2009.  

Fun For All

The Raiders will have a variety of promotions at Tuesday's game, including free pizza for all in attendance, free mini soccer balls given out during the game and the always entertaining sumo wrestling at half-time.  

Next up the Raiders will face two more in-state foes. First they host regional rival Syracuse University on Monday, Sept. 7th at 7 p.m., followed by an away game at Albany on Friday, Sept. 11th at 4 p.m.