LOUDONVILLE, NY – After knocking off a league rival to begin MAAC play, Siena Men's Soccer (5-3-1, 1-0) will look to once more defend its home turf on Saturday afternoon. The Saints will play host to Manhattan (3-3-2, 1-0) at Hickey Field in a battle of undefeated conference counterparts.
Wednesday's match will be aired live on ESPN3, with Kelly O'Donnell handling play-by-play duties and program great James Beeston '13 providing color commentary. Live stats will be available on SienaSaints.com, while live up-to-the-minute updates will be available by following @SienaSoccer on Twitter.
After dropping each of its final two non-conference bouts, Siena kicked off MAAC play with a win in a MAAC opener for the first time since 2019. The team's 2-1 win over Quinnipiac was its first against the MAAC rival since 2015, and gave head coach Graciano Brito his first win over his alma mater and former place of employment. Siena took an early lead off the foot of sophomore Zach Gardner in the second minute of play, and then battled back just five minutes after QU knotted the match by way of sophomore Thomas Storodegard.
Having matched its best start through nine matches since 1998, Siena currently ranks second in the MAAC in assist per-game, points per-game, scoring offense, goals-against-average, and total points, goals, and assists. Additionally, Storodegard leads the conference and is tied for third nationally in game-winning goals (3), while ranking second in total goals (4). Additionally, sophomore Jesper Schone Vogtengen is second in the conference in total assists with five. The squad's associative approach has led to an astounding 15 different players recording either a goal or an assist on the year through nine matches, and comes on the heels of 17 different players doing so last season for the most in a single season since 2002.
Having secured a MAAC weekly award twice this year, graduate student Greg Monroe used Wednesday's win to become the program's all-time leader in games played by a goalie with his 71st career appearance. Already the program leader in goalkeeper wins and minutes played, Monroe is tied for the most shutouts secured in program history (12) and fourth in saves (323). The Clifton Park, New York native is also second among active players in NCAA Division I in saves, 42nd nationally in saves per-game (4.11), 19rd in the total saves this season (37), and 66th in save percentage (.755).
With a stellar 8-3-2 mark at home since the beginning of last year, the Saints are 3-1 at Hickey Field in 2022 after taking a come-from-behind 2-1 win over UMass Lowell on August 29 and routing Hartford in an 8-0 win on September 11 to start the year at home. Siena's win over the Bobcats came as a rebound from a 3-0 home loss to #22 Vermont the previous week. The team's eight goals scored against the Hawks matched their highest scoring output in a match since 1995 and tied for the third-most goals scored in a single match since achieving varsity status in 1974. Overall, the Saints have outscored their opponents 17-12 this season, and 11-5 at home.
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 Brito for the this year, Siena returns 24 letterwinners from last season while adding seven newcomers
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 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.
With the programs meeting for the 32nd time, Siena owns an 18-7-6 advantage over the Jaspers since joining the MAAC in 1989, with the Saints taking a 1-0 win last season thanks to junior Bilal Hersi. The teams played to a scoreless draw their last time around on Hickey Field on November 6, 2019, with Siena holding a 5-3-2 advantage over the last ten meetings, despite dropping two of the last four matches in Loudonville.
Led by tenth year head coach Jorden Scott, Manhattan is also off to an unblemished conference start after routing Rider in New Jersey, 3-0, last Wednesday. Concluding a two-match road trip to begin MAAC play, The Jaspers currently lead the league in shot accuracy (.548), while Gunnar Studenhofft is tops in shots per-game (3.62), and shots on-goal per-game (1.88) defensively, goalkeeper Danny DiMarco is a perfect 3-0 in-goal this year while leading the MAAC in goals-against-average (0.55), shutouts (3), and save percentage (.833). Additionally, Nassim Akki was heralded as the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on September 26. Manhattan was picked to finish eighth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing as such last season.
