Oct. 11, 2006

Final Stats

Slippery Rock, Pa. - Chris Graham buried a free kick into the back of the net in the seventh minute of action Wednesday to give The Rock a 1-0 win over visiting Millersville on James W. Egli Soccer Field.

In the process, he assured SRU of a second successive trip to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs -- and only the second postseason berth earned by a Rock men's soccer team in the last 26 seasons.

Wednesday's win was the 10th in 16 games this fall for Rock head coach Matt Thompson's squad and 10th victory in 14 conference contests.

The win kept SRU tied with West Chester for third place in the PSAC standings and eliminated California from the playoff chase. West Chester then poured dirt on California's postseason hopes with a 3-0 win over the Vulcans.

If The Rock and West Chester finish the regular season tied, the Golden Rams would earn the higher seed in the four-team conference playoffs on the strength of two wins over SRU this fall.

Wednesday's Rock win wasn't secure until Rock goalie Brandon McQuillen chalked up his eighth save of the game, which put the finishing touch on McQuillen's PSAC-best eighth shutout of the season.

McQuillen and The Rock defense have blanked three successive foes (Kutztown, California and Millersville).

The PSAC men's soccer "Athlete of the Week" for the week ending last Sunday, McQuillen will look to continue the streak on Saturday when SRU hosts Wheeling Jesuit in a 3 p.m. game on Egli Field.

Saturday's contest will be the final regular-season home game of the season. The Rock then closes out its regular-season schedule with road games at PSAC rivals East Stroudsburg (Oct. 18) and Bloomsburg (Oct. 21) before opening the conference playoffs on Oct. 25.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, The Rock will be on the road for both the semifinal and final rounds of the conference tournament.

Notes:

The Rock outshot Millersville by a 17-10 margin, but was on the short end of an 8-6 shots on goal comparison ... Graham's goal was his third of the season and first game-winning tally ... This fall's double-digit win total is the third straight recorded by The Rock, an achievement that had not been accomplished since the 1980 through 1982 seasons. Jim Egli-coached Rock teams won 12, 12 and 11 games in those respective seasons. Thompson-coached Rock squads have won 11,12 and 10 games, respectively, in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The 12-win season a year ago culminated in SRU claiming its first PSAC men's soccer title in 31 seasons ... The longest string of 10 or more win seasons was four campaigns, from 1973 to 1976, when Egli-coached teams won 11, 17, 14 and 13 games.