Soccer Game Central

HAMILTON, N.Y. (9/15/10) - The Colgate men's soccer team will play its first home game of the season this weekend when it hosts the Colgate Raider Adidas Classic at Van Doren Field in Hamilton, N.Y.

The tournament will start on Friday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. with a match-up between Lafayette and Binghamton followed by the Raiders' home opener against Vermont at 7.30 p.m. The teams will then resume play on Sunday afternoon when Lafayette faces Vermont at 12 p.m. and Colgate takes on Binghamton at 2.30 p.m. for the final game of the tournament.

Admission for the games is free and there will be a free pizza giveaway for fans attending the Colgate home opener on Friday night.

The Raiders (3-0-1) are coming off a 2-0 weekend with a 2-1 double-overtime win against Siena on Friday and a 1-0 win against Albany on Sunday. Matt Schuber (Webster, N.Y.) had one goal and one assist in the Siena game earning him an honorable mention from the Patriot League. Mike Reidy (Webster, N.Y.) and Jeff Leach (New Canaan, Conn) also scored a goal each for the Raiders this past weekend.

RANKINGS
Colgate was recently ranked fifth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Mid-Atlantic Region poll. The team is ranked behind Lafayette, Saint Louis, Charlotte and Bucknell respectively with Navy, Duquesne, Lehigh, American and Massachusetts rounding off the top ten selections. The Patriot League comprises six of the top 10 slots.

STATISTIC LEADERS
Leach, Reidy, Schuber and Steven Miller (Ivyland, Pa.) have each scored one goal and had one assist for the Raiders so far this season. They lead the team with three points apiece. Leach is also tied for second in the Patriot League for shots with 11 and also in shots per game with 2.75. Sophomore goalkeeper Grant Reed (Petoskey, Mich.) is second in the league in goals against with 1.00 and in save percentage with .889.

As a team, Colgate is ranked second in winning percentage (.875) and in goals allowed (1) amongst its patriot league competitors. It also has the longest unbeaten streak (4).

SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats (0-4) are coming off a four-game losing streak to four nationally ranked teams, most recently to No. 11 Penn State and No. 7 Ohio State. Before that, the team lost to No. 15 Monmouth and No. 23 UNC-Wilmington in its opening game.

Binghamton is led by freshman forward Luke Halberg who has two goals so far this season. Halberg was recently named the America East Rookie of the Week after scoring two goals that nearly helped his team upset nationally ranked Penn State. He is the first freshman to receive the honor for Binghamton in six years.

SCOUTING LAFAYETTE
The Leopards (3-1-1) are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to Penn and a 1-1 tie with Villanova last weekend. Prior to last weekend, the team had two wins against Stony Brook and Temple at the Lafayette Puma Classic and a win against Rider earlier on in the season. The team is currently ranked first in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic regional poll.

Lafayette is led by sophomore midfielder Sean Peckham who has two goals and one assist this season, and by senior goalkeeper Andre Pianko who was named the BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week earlier this season for his performances against Rider, Stony Brook and Temple in which he had a total of 19 saves for a .905 save percentage.

SCOUTING VERMONT
The Catamounts (4-1) are coming off a three-game winning streak with wins against Cornell and Presbyterian at the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Nike Fall Classic last weekend. The team also had a win against Wisconsin –Milwaukee the week before. Vermont's only loss of the season was its opening game against Central Connecticut, which it lost 1-0.

Junior forward Nick O'Neill, who has four goals and two assists this season, leads the Catamounts. O'Neill leads the America East in points and goals, and was recently named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week, one week after receiving the America East Player of the Week for his two goal and one assist performance against Presbyterian.