LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Men's Soccer returns to Hickey Field Tuesday afternoon when it welcomes LIU to the Capital Region for a 4 p.m. matchup. The Saints enter the contest at 1-3-1 on the season, while the Sharks come to Loudonville still searching for their first win at 0-4.
Tuesday marks just the second home contest of the season for Siena, which opened its home slate with a 3-3 draw against Northeastern on Aug. 31. The Saints matched their season high with three goals in the contest, with
Alejandro Perez Jorda scoring twice in his first career multi-goal performance and
Lucas Almeida adding a goal of his own.
Almeida has continued to deliver on his preseason expectations through the opening five matches of the campaign. The junior enters Tuesday with four goals and nine points, tying him for the Metro lead in goals and ranking him tied for second in the conference in points. His eight shots on goal also rank third in the league, with 10 total shots on the season.
Almeida's production has also placed him among the nation's statistical leaders. He is tied for 19th nationally while averaging 0.80 goals per match and tied for 29th with 1.80 points per match. His .800 shot-on-goal percentage is tied for the nation's top mark.
Tuesday's contest will mark the 10th all-time meeting between Siena and LIU, but the first since the consolidation of LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post into the current LIU athletics program in 2019. Siena holds a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series.
Seven of the first nine meetings between the programs took place annually from 1993 through 1999, when LIU competed as LIU Brooklyn. The Saints have won each of the last two meetings, earning a 4-1 home victory in 2016 before posting a 2-0 road win in 2017. Siena is 2-3 all-time against the program in Loudonville.
LIU enters Tuesday's matchup at 0-4 and will be playing its fifth consecutive road contest to open the season. The Sharks are slated to play their first eight matches away from home before hosting their first home contest on Oct. 8.
The Sharks are coming off back-to-back shutout losses, falling 2-0 at Sacred Heart on Sept. 1 before suffering a 3-0 setback at Saint Joseph's on Sept. 12. Nic Robinson leads LIU with two goals on the season, while Tal Levy and Mika Leue have each found the back of the net once.
Killian Reiter has started three of LIU's four matches in goal, entering Tuesday with a .500 save percentage and 3.33 goals against average. Samuel Reine made the other start and recorded three saves while allowing two goals in a loss at Sacred Heart.
Following LIU, Siena will open Metro Conference play Saturday, Sept. 19, traveling to Fairfield, CT, for a 6 p.m. matchup against Fairfield.
