LOUDONVILLE, NY – After compiling its best record in a season since 2014 and earning the right to host a home postseason match for the first time in six years, Siena Men's Soccer will look to continue to build towards greatness in 2022. The Saints' fall campaign will begin at non-conference foe Sacred Heart on Thursday, August 25, with kickoff at Park Ave Field in Fairfield, Connecticut set for 7:00 PM.
Thursday's match will be aired live on NEC Front Row, while live up-to-the-minute updates will be available by following @SienaSoccer on Twitter.
Set to embark on its 49th varsity season and its 47th at the NCAA Division I level, Siena will look to win a season opener for the second straight season, holding a 9-28-8 mark in season openers since gaining varsity status. A win over the Pioneers would mark the first time since the 1970 and 1970 pre-varsity days of the team that it would have won season openers against the same program in back-to-back years, having done so over Schenectady Community College.
Picked to finish fifth in the 2022 MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Green and Gold played to a 9-7-3 overall mark and a 5-3-2 conference record in 2021, securing the number four seed in the MAAC and ultimately falling to number five Rider at home in the MAAC quarterfinals. The Saints saw 17 different players register a point last season, marking the most since the 2002 campaign.
Rising sophomore Jacob Sandun Arachchige-Jensen highlighted the roster by becoming the fourth player in program history to earn MAAC Rookie of the Year honors, while becoming the first Siena freshman to take a home First Team All-MAAC nod and the only rookie in the league to do so last year. Classmate Henrik Winkelmann earned Second Team All-MAAC honors, while the pair joined defender Erik Reis, midfielder Zach Gardner, forward Thomas Storodegard, and defender Jesper Schone Vogtengen in making the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
Arachchige-Jensen, Reis, and Winkelmann all started the year by being selected to the 2022 Preseason All-MAAC Team.
Under the direction of third year head coach Graciano Brito, Siena returns 24 letterwinners from last season while adding seven newcomers. Veteran goalkeeper Greg Monroe and defender Antonio Linge both opted to return to the squad for a graduate year, while three of the team's newcomers head to Loudonville as transfers from other institutions.
Having first met in 2009, Siena holds a 6-2-1 all-time advantage over Sacred Heart, and has emerged without a loss in each of the last seven meetings. The Saints outscored the Pioneers, 19-6, during those matches, including a 2-1 victory at Hickey Field on August 26, 2021 during the most recent meeting, featuring a goal from rising sophomore Frederic Storodegard and one save from Monroe. The Saints own a 4-1 mark on the road in the series, and have won in each of the last four road meetings.
Led by interim head coach Anthony Anzevui, Sacred Heart will look to rebound off a 2-10-5 campaign in 2021, and was picked to finish seventh in the 2022 NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Pioneers bring back 16 players from last season, including 2021 Second Team All-NEC selections Lucas Miguel Castrillo and Etienne Murugarren, with the latter also earning All-Rookie Team honors. The team is joined by 12 newcomers this season, including 11 freshmen and one transfer, and will start the year off with three of its first five matches at home.
