Oct. 22, 2005

Final Stats

Slippery Rock, Pa. - For the first time since 1985, The Rock is headed to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men's soccer playoffs!

Matt Furlan assured The Rock of the long-awaited postseason berth when he scored in the 89th minute of action Saturday afternoon, on an assist from Gary Saunders, to account for the only goal in a win over visiting California U. of Pa. on James W. Egli Soccer Field.

With the win, The Rock improved its overall record to 11-6-1 and its PSAC-leading mark to 10-4-1.

SRU can assure itself of the PSAC regular-season title with a win in the regular-season finale Tuesday at Millersville.

The Rock nipped Millersville, 1-0, Sept. 24 on Egli Field.

Thanks to Saturday's win, The Rock can now finish no lower than second place in this year's conference standings.

A Rock loss or tie at Millersville would leave the door open for either California or West Chester to snatch up the regular-season title.

The conference standings (based on a system that awards three points for a win and one point for a tie) show The Rock on top with 31 points, followed by California with 27, West Chester with 25, East Stroudsburg with 24 and Lock Haven with 23.

In addition to The Rock's game Tuesday at Millersville, games that will have significant impact on the conference standings next week include Tuesday's head-to-head meeting between California and West Chester in suburban Philadelphia and next Saturday's East Stroudsburg at California game.

Then come the conference playoffs, which start November 2.

Saturday's fierce duel between The Rock and California on a wet and slippery Egli Field lived up to it 1-vs-2 billing as the teams combined to fire 40 shots and forced the goalkeepers to make 16 saves. There were also four yellow cards and one red card handed out during the action.

California outshot SRU by a 24-16 margin, but Rock netminder Chris Cook recorded nine saves en route to his sixth shutout of the season.

Saturday's win avenged a 4-3 Rock loss at California on Sept. 21, a game in which the Vulcans scored four times in the first 15 minutes of play and then held off a valiant Rock rally.

In addition to assuring SRU of its first PSAC playoff berth since 1985, Saturday's win gave The Rock its first back-to-back, double-digit-win campaigns since 1981-82.

A win Tuesday at Millersville would give head coach Matt Thompson and The Rock their second successive 11-win regular season.