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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team will travel to No. 12 Gannon University for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division matchup 3 p.m. Wednesday.
 
MATCH NINE DETAILS
Opponent: Gannon University
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 9 – 3 p.m.
Location: McConnell Family Stadium l Erie, Pa.
Watch: Link
Live Stats: Link
In-game Updates: Twitter (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: Slippery Rock leads 23-14-2
Last Played: Sept. 23, 2018 (Gannon won at home, 4-0)
 
LAST MEETING
Gannon defeated Slippery Rock at home, 4-0. GU got on the board with a Sam Thorton goal in the 8th minute for the early 1-0 advantage.
 
Thorton netted his second score of the contest on a feed from Baran Kilic to stretch the Golden Knight lead to 2-0 in the 30th minute. Gannon secured a 4-0 victory over The Rock with goals by Abdullah Say and Ben Andrews in the 50th and 83rd minute respectively.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock leads the all-time series 23-14-2. The Rock has won six of the last 10 matchups with the Golden Knights, scoring at least two goals in five of those 10 games.
 
The Rock owns a 13-6-0 record on the road against Gannon including winning five of the last 10 road games against GU.
 
SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
Overall Record: 4-3-1
PSAC West Record: 1-0-0
PSAC West Standings: Third
Home Record: 2-0-0
Away Record: 2-3-1
Last Five Games: 3-2-0
Streak: W1
Head Coach: Kevin Wilhelm l Second Season at Slippery Rock (10-13-3)
 
SCOUTING THE ROCK
• LAST TIME OUT – Slippery Rock opened PSAC Western Division play with a 2-0 road victory over California University of Pennsylvania. Abdallah Bangura continued his scorching start to the season, netting his team-best sixth score of the season in the 49th minute.
 
Anthony Werth secured the 2-0 victory for SRU on a penalty kick goal at 85:00 for his third goal of 2019 and second score in three games. Rock goalkeeper Matt Hunsberger recorded his third solo-shutout of the season with one save.
 
• THREE OF FOUR – Slippery Rock has won three of its last four games, outscoring opponents 8-2 in that span. The last time SRU recorded three wins in a four game stretch came during the 2015 season. 
 
• KEEPER COUNT – Hunsberger, the reigning PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week, recorded one save in 90 clean minutes against Cal U. On the season, the senior has a .765 save percentage along with 1.05 goals against average and 26 saves.

• TOP TEAM - As a team, Slippery Rock ranks near at the top of the PSAC in both offense and defense. SRU ranks second in the conference in goals scored (17), second in goals per game average (2.125) and third in scoring margin (+1.13). Defensively, The Rock ranks third in save percentage (.789) and fourth in opponents scoring average (1.00). 
 
• IMPROVED OFFENSE – SRU's 17 goals scored this season are the most it has scored through an eight-game stretch to begin a season since 2013. 
 
Bangura, the reigning PSAC West Athlete of the Week, leads the way for The Rock on offense in goals and points (13) while Werth ranks second for SRU in goals (3) and is tied with Ramses Minaya for second in points (6).
 
• STARTING STRONG – The 4-3-1 start for SRU marks the best start to a season for a Rock men's soccer team since 2015.
 
• SCORE FIRST – Slippery Rock owns a 4-0-1 record in games when it scores first this season. In those contests, SRU is outscoring opponents 15-2 with three shutout victories.
 
• TAKE TWO – Slippery Rock has scored two or more goals in three of its eight contests this season, The Rock owns a 3-0-0 record in games it scores two or more goals this year.
 
• ROAD WARRIORS – SRU has played opponents tough on the road, winning two of its last three road games. The Rock has played two overtime contests on the road this season and four of Slippery Rock's six road contests have been decided by one goal or less.

• PSAC LEADERS – Bangura ranks at the top of several offensive categories in the PSAC. The sophomore midfielder ranks first in game-winning goals (3), tied for first in goals, second in total shots (25) and second shots on goal (17).
 
Among PSAC goalkeepers, Hunsberger's three solo-shutouts rank tied for second. 
 
• ROUNDING OUT THE ATTACK – Alejandro Fernandez and Minaya are tied for third in goals for Slippery Rock with two this season while Nick Sodini, Luke Picchi, Dan Schearer and Nick Iagnemma have added one goal apiece.
 
Sean Tinney has guided the offensive attack for The Rock with three assists while Minaya and Ale Okuma rank second on the team with two assists each. Bangura, Fernandez, Sodini and Picchi have one assist apiece.
 
THIS WEEK IN ROCK HISTORY
Oct. 15, 2017 – Tyler McCarthy nets his first career hat trick on the road against California (Pa.) in a 4-0 Rock victory. McCarthy, the current graduate assistant for the SRU women's soccer program, led Slippery Rock in goals (6) and points (12) in 2017.
 
NEXT FIVE GAMES
Oct. 12 (1 p.m.) vs Shippensburg
Oct. 16 (4 p.m.) vs Pitt-Johnstown
Oct. 19 (1:30 p.m.) at Seton Hill
Oct. 23 (1:30 p.m.) vs Mercyhurst
Oct. 26 (2 p.m.) vs Seton Hill
 
GANNON PRIMER
Overall Record: 7-1-0
USC Top-25 Ranking: 12th 
PSAC West Record: 0-1-0
PSAC West Standings: Fifth
Home Record: 4-1-0
Away Record: 3-0-0
Last Five Games: 4-1-0
Streak: W1
Head Coach: Billy Colton l First Season at Gannon (7-1-0)
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
• Last time out: Then fourth-ranked Gannon secured a 7-1 home victory over Daemen College to improve to 7-1-0 this season.
 
Ben Andrews led the way for the Golden Knights on offense, recording his second goal of the season 14 seconds into the contest followed by his second score of the game at the 28:26 mark.
 
Joe Knox, Lennox Crews, Alex Lee Yaw and Sergio Del Castillo added one goal each against Daemen. Gannon added an own goal on a misplayed ball by the Wildcat keeper to secure the non-conference victory for the Golden Knights.
 
• Gannon is led on offense by Lee Yaw who has a team-high four goals and eight points. Crews ranks second on the team with six points on two goals.
 
• Chandler Hallwood has started all seven games in goal for Gannon. On the season, the sophomore has a .892 save percentage, a 0.56 goals against average and 33 saves.

• Yaw ranks atop the conference leaders on offense this season. The junior is tied for second in goals (4) and game-winning goals (2) while ranking third in assists (3). Hallwood leads PSAC goalkeepers in goals against average, save percentage and is tied for second in shutouts (3).
 
UP NEXT
SRU returns home to host Shippensburg University for a non-conference matchup at James Egli Field 1 p.m. Saturday.


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