SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team needs a win or a draw to qualify for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament when it takes on Seton Hill University 3 p.m. Friday on the road in the final game of the regular season.
 
The Rock enter with a 5-7-4 overall record, recently slipping below .500 with a 4-5 mark in PSAC West play. The Griffins are looking to improve upon their record of 4-11-1 overall and 3-5-1 within the PSAC West.
 
WATCH LIVE
• Fans can watch Friday's game live and on-demand for free with the links provided below courtesy of Seton Hill Athletic Communication

GAME 17 of 17
Opponent: Seton Hill
Date: Friday – 3 p.m.
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Field
Location: Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Seton Hill Athletic Communication
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)

SERIES HISTORY vs. SETON HILL
Friday marks the 19^th all-time meeting between The Rock and the Griffins, a series that Slippery Rock holds a 7-10-1 record in. Slippery Rock's 3-1 win over Seton Hill earlier this year snapped a four-game winless streak against the Griffins. While on the road, SRU is 2-5-1 against Seton Hill, last winning Oct. 5, 2011. Slippery Rock also picked up a draw on the road Sept. 26, 2018.

LAST MEETING
The Rock hosted the Griffins Oct. 14, coming away with an important 3-1 victory. The game started off in wild fashion when Seton Hill scored just 1:21 into the game. SRU then found the equalizer just 24 seconds later with a header by Aitor Jorde.
 
After an 18^th minute red card forced Seton Hill to play a man-down, Slippery Rock was able to begin controlling the pitch, scoring goals in the 78^th and 81^st minutes, off the heads of Jorde and Will Harrigan, respectively.
 
Slippery Rock led in shots (18-4), shots on goal (7-2) and corner kicks (7-0).
 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 5-7-4
PSAC West Record: 4-5-0
PSAC West Standings: 3^rd  
Home Record: 4-3-1
Away Record: 1-4-3
Last Five Games: 3-2-0
Streak: L2
Head Coach: Kevin Wilhelm | Sixth season at SRU (30-47-12)

LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock hosted No. 20 Mercyhurst University last week for Senior Day. The Rock fell, 2-0, suffering its first shutout in 13 games. The Lakers pounced early with a fourth minute goal but were unable to find the back of the net again until the 84^th minute via a penalty kick. Goalkeeper Adam Davies tied his career-high in saves, making six stops on 15 shots.
 
WHERE THEY STAND
With just one game remaining for each team in the PSAC, the playoff bracket is almost completely set in stone. The top three teams in both the Western Division and Eastern Division standings at the end of the regular season qualify for the PSAC Tournament.
 
In the PSAC West, Gannon has clinched the No. 1 seed while Mercyhurst has secured the No. 2 seed. Slippery Rock sits in third in the PSAC West with 12 points, in front of Seton Hill in fourth at 10 points. The Rock and the Griffins are the only two teams that are mathematically eligible for clinching the No. 3 seed.
 
Simply put, whoever wins Friday's contest will earn the three points in the standings and claim the final spot in the PSAC Tournament out of the Western Division. If the game plays to a draw, each team will get one point, and Slippery Rock will advance to its first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2019.
 
A SEASON OF POINTS
Jorde continues to lead SRU's offense with 20 points on the year, stemming from nine goals and two assists. His .563 goals per game ranks fifth in the PSAC while his 1.25 points per game puts him sixth in the conference.
 
Arturo Pla Hernandis is right behind Jorde with 17 points, coming from eight goals and one assist. Together, the two have accounted for 65.4 percent of SRU's total goals on the year (17-of-26).
 
Luke Gildea rides an eight-point total on the year, coming from a pair of goals and a team-high four assists. Both Gabin Lonjard and Aashi Pandher have five points, each with two goals and one assist. Ignacio Rullan has tallied four points on the year coming from one goal and two assists.
 
Shaun Spencer's four points all come from four assists, while Joe Skillicorn's three assists have netted him three points. Harrigan and Jeroen Van Der Veen each have two points, with Harrigan's coming by way of a goal and Van Der Veen contributing two assists.
 
Topher Garcia, Chris Mitchell and Max Murphy each have one point to their name from one assist.

SHOOTING THE BALL
Both Jorde and Pla Hernandis have taken 22 shots on goal this season, with Jorde attempting 45 and Pla Hernandis taking 44 total shots. Their 1.38 shots on goal per game are tied with each other for second in the PSAC, while Jorde's 2.81 shotst per game ranks third in the conference.
 
Gildea is the team's most accurate shot-taker, placing 11 of his 16 shots on frame (68.8 percent). Pandher and Rullan have each added to the offense en masse, firing 22 and 14 shots in total, respectively.

RECORD WATCH

• Both Jorde and Pla Hernandis are tied for 10^th all-time in most shots on goal in a single season at 22. Pla Hernandis is also ranked ninth all-time with his 23 shots on goal a year ago. Jeremy Deighton's 2008 season leads the way, in which he totaled 50 shots on net.
   
• Pla Hernandis' 123 career shots is eighth all-time. Nick Christy's 2004-07 career ranks seventh, at 129 total shots.
   
• Pla Hernandis is also at 58 career shots on goal, which ranks fourth all-time. Toby Bowser's 2007-10 career ranks third, at 64 shots on goal.
   
• Adam Davies has played 16 games in net. By playing at Seton Hill and in at least one PSAC Tournament game, Davies would tie for sixth all-time in most goalie games played in a single season. He would also tie for fifth in most goalie games started in a single year.

HUNTING FOR THE SWEEP
A win over Seton Hill would give Slippery Rock its second season sweep on the year, as The Rock defeated the Griffins earlier this season, 3-1. Slippery Rock swept Pitt-Johnstown this year, picking up a 3-2 win at home and blanking the Mountain Cats on the road, 3-0. The last time that Slippery Rock recorded two sweeps in a single season was 2009, going 2-0 against both Gannon University and Lock Haven University.
 
NOVEMBER BALL
Slippery Rock holds an all-time record of 91-54-12 (.618) in games played in November. The Rock's last November win came Nov. 3, 2021 in a 4-1 victory over UPJ.
 
STOPPING THE ATTACK
SRU's defense has been led by Harrigan, Lonjard, Spencer and Van Der Veen. Throughout the year, SRU has held its opponents to 11.8 shots per game, while Slippery Rock has averaged 11.9. On top of that, The Rock's defense has allowed just 5.7 corner kicks per match. 
 
BETWEEN THE GOALPOSTS
Davies has now totaled 56 saves on the season, facing 174 shots. The Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania native enters Friday's matchup with a .644 save percentage and a GAA of 1.98.
 
ACTIVE SRU ROSTER vs. SETON HILL
Aitor Jorde – 4 points (2 goals, 0 assists)
Will Harrigan – 2 points (1 goal, 0 assists)
Arturo Pla Hernandis – 2 points (1 goal, 0 assists)
Shaun Spencer – 2 point (0 goals, 2 assists)
Topher Garcia – 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist)
Luke Gildea – 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist)
Joe Skillicorn – 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist)
Adam Davies – 1 save (1 game played)
 
THE GRIFFINS BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 4-11-1 (.281)
PSAC West Record: 3-5-1
PSAC West Standings: 4^th
Home Record: 1-4-1
Away Record: 3-7-0
Last Five Games: 1-3-1
Streak: L2
Head Coach: Dilveer Chaggar | Second season at Seton Hill (12-20-3, .386)

SETON HILL SCOUTING REPORT
The Griffins come in on a two-game losing streak, but their most recent win came in impressive fashion, defeating No. 19 Mercyhurst, 1-0. Seton Hill has been outscored in its last five matches, 8-5.
 
The Griffins are led by Kigali, Rwanda native Brice Gandhi, who has registered 14 points on six goals and two assists. Right behind him is true freshman James Aubrey, who has tallied 13 points on five goals and three assists.
 
Julian Marker, who scored against Slippery Rock earlier this season, has started 15 of the team's 16 contests this year, and has combined for 11 points on four goals and three assists.
 
Aiden Hollander has been The Griffins' go-to goalkeeper this season, playing in 15 games. The sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas has allowed 26 goals and has made 80 saves while facing 231 shots.
 
As a collective, Seton Hill takes the third-fewest shots in the PSAC at just 9.44 shots per game. The Griffins have allowed an average of 15.8 shots per match from their opponents.
 
Seton Hill takes the second-fewest number of corner kicks in the PSAC West at just 3.63 per game. The Griffins have also committed a conference-high 3.25 offsides per game.

LOOKING AHEAD
With a win or a draw over Seton Hill, Slippery Rock will clinch a spot in the first round of the PSAC Tournament and will travel to nationally ranked Mercyhurst Monday, Nov. 6 at a time to be announced.



To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).