LOUDONVILLE, NY – Looking to continue its best start to a campaign since 2014, Siena Men's Soccer (2-1-1) will return home for the second time this season on Sunday afternoon. The Saints will welcome non-conference foe Hartford (0-4) to Hickey Field, with kickoff set for 3 PM.
Sunday's match will be aired live on ESPN3, with the "Voice of the Saints" Emmanuel Berbari handing play-by-play duties. Live stats will be available on SienaSaints.com, while live up-to-the-minute updates will be available by following @SienaSoccer on Twitter.
After beginning last weekend with a tough loss at Big EAST preseason favorite Providence College, the Saints rebounded on Tuesday evening by playing ACC foe Boston College to a 1-1 draw in road action. Despite being out-shot, 13-3, the team picked up its first point against a Power Five opponent since 2011 off the foot of redshirt-senior Antonio Linge, who used a deflection to fire a top-shelf blast in in the 66th minute of play.
Graduate Student goalkeeper Greg Monroe continued to climb up the program's career ranks, becoming just the fourth Siena keeper to register 300 career saves with four total on the night. Having already set the program record for goalkeeper wins earlier this season, the Clifton Park, NY product is currently second in career goalkeeper minutes and matches played, tied for second in shutouts, and fourth in saves. Monroe was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in his collegiate career back on August 29.
The team's associative approach has led to eight different players recording either a goal or an assist on the year through four matches, and comes on the heels of 17 different players doing so last season for the most on a Siena team since 2002.
With a stellar 6-2-2 mark at home since the beginning of last season, the Saints' first action of the year at Hickey Field came in the form of a 2-1 win over UMass Lowell on August 29, with the team wiping away an early 1-0 deficit thanks to scores from sophomore Zach Gardner in the 35th minute and classmate Thomas Storodegard in the 83rd minute.
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. Under the direction of third year head coach Graciano Brito, Siena returns 24 letterwinners from last season while adding seven newcomers
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, Gardner, 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.
Set to meet for the first time since 2015, Hartford owns a 5-1-2 all-time advantage over Siena, with the series beginning back in 1985. The teams last met in a controversial 1-1 draw at Hickey Field, which was later forfeited by the Hawks due to the use of an illegal player. The Saints only win in the series came during the 1999 season, a 3-2 triumph as part of a neutral site tournament at UMass.
In search of its first win of the season, Hartford continues its final year at the NCAA Division I level in search of its first goal of its 2022 campaign. The Hawks have been subject to four consecutive shutouts, including against 2022 Siena opponents Merrimack (4-0), Quinnipiac (3-0), and Sacred Heart (2-0). Led by interim head coach Mike Kulas, Hartford boasts 11 freshmen and 14 total underclassmen on its roster.
