THE SECOND SEASON: The Seattle University men's soccer team begins the second half of the 2009 season with its first conference matches as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches poll, SeattleU starts the conference schedule with a trip to Albuquerque to face the New Mexico Lobos, one of the preseason favorites to win the league title. The Redhawks then travel to Las Vegas to face UNLV, the team with the best non-conference record in the MPSF.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO: The Lobos come into Friday's match with a 6-4 record, coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to UC Irvine on Oct. 7. New Mexico had won five of its previous six matches, including victories at Notre Dame and against California, both nationally-ranked squads. Justin Davis leads the team in scoring with four goals and three assists for ten total points. Michael Green has collected three goals and three assists for nine points, while Simon Ejdemyr also has scored three goals so far this season. Justin Fite has been the goalie for the vast majority of the season, posting a 5-4 record with a 1.21 goals against average, a .756 save percentage, and two shutouts.
SCOUTING UNLV: The Rebels enter the weekend with a 6-2-2 overall record, coming off a 4-2 victory over Houston Baptist last Sunday. UNLV has won three of its last four matches, with the loss coming at #3 UCLA. Nick Marshall leads the way in scoring for the Rebels, earning seven goals and two assists for 16 total points. Stephen Sifuentes has five goals and two assists for 12 points, while Zach Kupfer has contributed four goals and two assists for ten total points. Roland Swanson has played every second in net for UNLV, posting a 1.22 goals against average, a .606 save percentage, and four shutouts.
CONFERENCE NOTES: Seattle University will be playing a conference match for the first time since Nov. 3, 2007, when the Redhawks played to a 1-1 tie against Seattle Pacific as a member of the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). From 2001 to 2007, SeattleU won six GNAC titles, compiling a conference record of 33-4-1. Next weekend, SeattleU will be hosting a league contest for the first time since a 2-0 victory over Western Washington on Oct. 25, 2007.