Slippery Rock Stats | California (Pa.) Stats | Live Stats
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team will start its grueling 11-game Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) schedule on the road Saturday at 1 p.m. against California University (Pa.).
 
Live Coverage: The California sports information office will provide live statistics at the above link. Live updates will also be available on Twitter throughout the game (@Rock_Athletics).
 
Records: Winners of two out of its last three matches, Slippery Rock enters conference play with an overall record of 2-2 on the season. The Vulcans have lost two out of their last three matches and are 1-2-1 on the year.
 
Last Time Out: Slippery Rock took to the road for the first time in 2014 in non-conference play at Daemen College. Stephen Donnelly scored in the seventh minute only to have Daemen find the equalizer two minutes later. However, Dom Francis scored the game-winner on a breakaway in the 82^nd minute to propel The Rock to a 2-1 victory (Box Score).
 
California allowed three consecutive goals in a 3-2 loss at Walsh University (Box Score).
 
Scouting Slippery Rock: Donnelly is The Rock's leader in points with six off of team-highs of two goals and two assists. He has registered at least one point in three of Slippery Rock's four games. Donnelly is already ahead of his All-America performance in 2013 when it took him seven contests to amass two goals and two assists. Francis is tied with Donnelly for the team-lead in goals with two scores of his own. Both players rank fifth in the PSAC in goals.
 
Peter Boylan and Matt Sangermano round out The Rock's goal scorers thus far with one strike each while Brandon Chiu, Mike Pcholinsky and Josh Allman have each accounted for one assist. Pcholinsky's assist, which came on Donnelly's goal against Daemen, was the first of his career.
 
Goalkeeper Steven Rerick has played all 360 minutes for Slippery Rock and is 2-2 with one shutout, 27 saves (.750), and a 2.25 Goals Against Average (GAA). He ranks second in the league in both saves and saves per game (6.75).   
 
Rerick, Donnelly, Boylan, Chiu, Ryan Van Dorick, Anthony Jack, Ryan Boylan and Ryan Lutke have started each of the first four games for SRU.
 
Four of The Rock's six goals this year has come in the second half. Conversely, SRU has allowed just three goals in the second half of games as opposed to six in the first half.
 
Saturday's game is the second of three consecutive road contests and will be Slippery Rock's first game in a week.
 
Scouting California: The Vulcans are tied for third in the league with seven goals. Six different athletes have scored for California with Russell Tattersall pacing the group with two goals. Elliott Taylor, Jesse Scheirer, Tyler Woolum, Jeffrey Kyie and Kevin Helbig have one goal apiece.
 
Goalkeeper Shane Donovan is 1-2-1 on the season with 12 saves (.571) and a 2.13 GAA in 380 minutes of action.
 
All nine of the Vulcans' goals allowed have come in the second half of games.
 
Head Coaches: Andy Hoggarth became the 11th head coach in Slippery Rock history on May 30, 2014 after serving as an assistant coach with the women's soccer team at the University of Akron in 2013. Prior to that appointment, he served as the head coach of both the men's and women's soccer teams at nearby Thiel College for six seasons from 2007-12.
 
Emedin Sabic was hired to lead the California program prior to the start of the 2013-14 season. Sabic is 7-10-1 for his career as a head coach. A Vulcan alum, Sabic has been associated with California soccer as a player, assistant coach or head coach since 2003.
 
Series History: The Vulcans hold a narrow 18-15-2 edge over The Rock in the all-time series. The schools have split the last two meetings.
 
Last Meeting: Donnelly tallied two scores and Chris Zier made eight saves to lead Slippery Rock to a 2-0 win on Oct. 7, 2013 at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (Box Score).
 
Up Next: SRU remains on the road for its second conference game of the season when it travels to Millersville University Sept. 24 at 3 p.m.