UPDATE (Sept. 25) - This game has been moved to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Kickoff is still slated for 4 p.m. 

GAME PROGRAM INFO
Slippery Rock has moved away from printed game programs for all sports in 2024-25. This page will serve as the "Digital Game Program" for this week's game. To navigate to all gameday info for any SRU home events this year, simply visit rockathletics.com/gameday or scan the QR code on the "Gameday Info" posters hanging in each facility.
 

Slippery Rock vs. Roberts Wesleyan
The Rock (2-1-1)	Redhawks (1-3-1)
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach Kevin Wilhelm	Coach Scott Reber
Program Records	Program Records
James Egli Field
PSAC Standings
PSAC Statistics
PSAC Schedule

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team will look to stay in the win column when it hosts Roberts Wesleyan University in a non-conference battle 4 p.m. Wednesday at James Egli Field.
 
The Rock bring in an overall record of 2-1-1 on the year. The Redhawks will look to improve upon a 1-3-1 mark that includes a 0-1 start to East Coast Conference competition.
 
NO PETS AT EGLI FIELD
Fans are reminded that there are NO PETS allowed at James Egli Field or in any SRU Athletics facilities. Please do not bring dogs or any other pets to the game. Unless they are a registered service animal, you will be asked to remove your pet from the facility.
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV - "ROCK ATHLETICS DIGITAL NETWORK" APPS
• Fans can watch Wednesday's game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU athletic communication office.
 
• Search for Rock Athletics Digital Network in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices. The streaming web player linked above will also integrate with Chrome Cast devices to allow viewers to cast the game to those devices.
 
GAME 5 of 16
Opponent: Roberts Wesleyan
Date: Wednesday – 4 p.m.
Location: Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Venue: James Egli Field
Live Video: Rock Athletics Digital Network
Live Stats: Slippery Rock Athletic Communication
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: RWU leads, 1-0-1
Current Streak: D1
Last Played: Sept. 23, 2023 (Tied, 1-1)
 
TOP ACTIVE SRU CAREER STATS vs. ROBERTS WESLEYAN
Arturo Pla Hernandis – 2 points: 1 goal, 5 shots, 3 SOG (2 GP)
Aashi Pandher – 2 points: 1 goal, 3 shots, 2 SOG (1 GP)
Adam Davies – (0-0-1), 0.90 GAA, 1 save on 14 SF (2 GP)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday will mark just the third all-time meeting between The Rock and the Redhawks, an annual matchup that began in 2022. Roberts Wesleyan claimed a 3-1 win at James Egli Field that year, and the two sides drew to a 1-1 score in Rochester, New York a year ago.
 
Slippery Rock's 1-1 tie at Roberts came in heartbreaking form last season. Aashi Pandher put The Rock on top with a 1-0 lead in the 63^rd minute, but RWU equalized with 43 seconds remaining. Roberts Wesleyan held a 14-12 lead in shots while SRU found edges in shots on goal (3-2) and corner kicks (5-3).
 

TEAM COMPARISON
The Rock	Stats	Roberts
2-1-1	Overall Record	1-3-1
-	Conference Record	0-1
1.8	Goals per Game	2.2
0.8	Opp. Goals per Game	2.6
+4	Season Goal Differential	-2
14.8	Shots per Game	10.0
8.8	Opp. Shots per Game	14.4
7.0	SOG per Game	5.6
3.8	Opp. SOG per Game	8.4
0.8	Assists per Game	0.4
5.3	Corners per Game	4.8
11.0	Fouls per Game	12.0
3.0	Saves per Game	5.8

 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 2-1-1
2023 PSAC West Record: 4-6
Home Record: 0-0-1
Away Record: 2-1
2023 PSAC West Rank: 4^th of 6
Streak: W1
Head Coach: Kevin Wilhelm | Seventh season at SRU (32-49-13)
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock unleashed its offense in a 5-1 victory over Shippensburg University on the road Sept. 21. Aaron Finney scored the first two goals of his career (6', 67'), while Luke Gildea (29'), Colton Swanson (70') and Arturo Pla Hernandis (90') all sent shots into the back of the net.
 
Swanson and Jack Smith were both credited with an assist, as Swanson led the team with five shots and three shots on goal. Adam Davies needed to make just two saves in the win.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock came away with substantial leads in shots (24-7) and shots on goal (13-3). SRU also left Shippensburg with a 3-2 tilt in corner kicks.
 
LEADING THE ROCK
With six points, Swanson sits atop SRU's points tally on two goals and two assists. The grad transfer has also accounted for 15 shots, 10 of which have found the target. With SRU taking a total of 59 shot attempts and placing 28 looks on net, Swanson has made up 25.4 percent of the team's shots and 35.7 percent of The Rock's shots on goal.
 
Finney's brace against Shippensburg ranks him second with four points. All three of his shots against the Raiders were put on target.
 
Gildea, Jorde and Pla Hernandis have all registered two points on one goal, combining for 22 shots. With an assist, Smith rounds out SRU's group of six players with at least one point to their name.
 
Behind Swanson, Pla Hernandis has taken nine shots on the season, while Jorde and Rasmus Fugl have both fired eight. Jorde has seen four of his eight shots go to goal, ranking just one spot behind Swanson in shots on net.
 
Three of Pandher's four shots have wound up on target, as Ignacio Rullan has totaled three shots this year. Smith, Gabin Lonjard, Shaun Spencer and Jeroen Van Der Veen have each produced one shot, with Spencer's falling on frame.
 
WE SCORED A LOT OF GOALS
Slippery Rock's 5-1 burst over Shippensburg secures 2024 as being the fifth straight year in which The Rock have tallied at least five goals in a single game. SRU defeated Daemen University 5-2 last year and came away with a 5-0 victory against California (Pa.) in 2022.
 
Slippery Rock snapped just a 16-game streak of scoring fewer than five goals but came away with its largest win over Shippensburg since 1966.
 
The win was also Slippery Rock's largest margin of victory since that five-goal win over the Vulcans – a span of 24 games. Prior to that, Slippery Rock's last four-goal margin of victory occurred in a 6-2 win at Pitt-Johnstown Oct. 13, 2021.
 
The 2022 victory over Cal was also the last time Slippery Rock saw four unique goalscorers in the same game. Pla Hernandis netted a brace in that matchup, scoring in the 10^th and 75^th minutes of play.
 
WE HAVEN'T ALLOWED A LOT OF GOALS
Lonjard, Van Der Veen and Colton Spence were SRU's starting defenders against Shippensburg, joined later by Smith, Spencer and Will Harrigan.
 
Through four games, Slippery Rock has put together a team GAA of 0.75, ranking first in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Rock are tied with East Stroudsburg University for 28^th in scoring defense through all of Division II.
 
The Rock have outshot their opponents by an average of six shots per game and enter their fifth game of the year with a 21-19 overall advantage in corner kicks.
 
A GAME FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
Slippery Rock's 5-1 win included 12 total points, stemming from five goals and two assists. That ties for eighth all-time in SRU's program history.
 
Additionally, Slippery Rock took 27 shots in a single game for just the seventh recorded instance in school history.
 
AARON MAKING AN IMPACT
Finney became the first member of The Rock men's soccer team to score his first two career goals in the same game since Alejandro Fernandez netted a brace against Shepherd University Sept. 11, 2019.
 
Fernandez scored in the 12^th minute to double SRU's lead to 2-0 before adding to a five-goal lead at halftime just 4:51 into the second half to make it 6-0. Slippery Rock ended up with a 7-0 win over the Rams.
 
Fernandez went on to tally 23 points on nine goals and five assists in two seasons with Slippery Rock.
 
Finney's career day at Shippensburg also featured his first appearance in the starting lineup, becoming the 12^th different starter for The Rock this year.
 
The Brighton, England forward appeared in 10 games last year as a junior. Prior to transferring to SRU, Finney spent two years with NAIA MidAmerica Nazarene in Kansas, playing in 14 games and racking up three points on one goal and one assist.
 
SWANSON'S BIG WEEK
Despite averaging 72.5 minutes per game last week, Swanson led Slippery Rock with five points on two goals and one assist.
 
The Bradford, Pennsylvania native scored SRU's lone goal in a 1-1 draw against the University of the District of Columbia, firing a direct free kick into the net in the 13^th minute.
 
After notching the assist on Finney's second goal against Shippensburg (67'), Swanson got his turn to score just 3:32 later when he extended SRU's lead to 4-0.
 
In addition to his goalscoring, Swanson amassed 11 shots on the week, placing seven on net. He now leads the PSAC and ranks fourth in Division II with 2.5 shots on goal per game.
 
Shots on goal per game (Division II)
1. Theo Fallon (3.17, Wilmington (Del.))
2. Kevon Evans (3.00, STAC)
3. Peter Plougmand (2.67, Mars Hill)
T4. Colton Swanson (2.50, The Rock)
T4. Lucas Bedleg (2.50, UIndy)
T4. Ignasi Cucurella (2.50, East Stroudsburg)
 
A FIRST FOR JACK
In addition to SRU's superb offensive production, Smith earned the first assist of his career at Shippensburg by finding Pla Hernandis in the final minute of play.
 
A defender from Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, Smith saw 76 minutes of action last week in total. Coincidentally, his first career shot came two years ago against Roberts Wesleyan.
 
DAVIES GETTING IT DONE
Needing just two saves at Shippensburg, Davies begins the week ranked first in the PSAC with a save percentage of .800. The senior goalkeeper's 0.75 GAA is also best in the PSAC West and tied with ESU's Helgi Hermannsson for tops in the conference as a whole.
 
WELCOMING SOME NEW FACES
In addition to Harrigan's season debut, Slippery Rock saw the first career appearances from Jacob Glancy and Gerard Lopez Marti at Shippensburg.
 
Glancy, a sophomore from Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, got a 25-minute stint on the field, while Lopez Marti, a freshman out of Burriana, Spain, also made his first cameo for The Rock against the Raiders.
 
LOOKING GOOD THROUGH FOUR
Slippery Rock is off to its best start with a 2-1-1 record since a 2-0-2 start to the year in 2021. If SRU can get the win against Roberts Wesleyan Wednesday, it will be the first time since 2015 – a year in which Slippery Rock became the PSAC Champions – that The Rock tallied three wins within its first five games of the year.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Slippery Rock has fared well against ECC opponents as of recent, accumulating a 4-1-3 (.688) record since 2019. Overall, The Rock are looking to improve upon a 13-18-12 (.442) record in non-conference play that covers the last six seasons.
 
RECORD WATCH
Now in his senior year, Pla Hernandis has the opportunity to rise through the program's top 20 in multiple different statistical categories. With 62 shots on goal, he currently ranks fourth in school history, just two shots on target behind Toby Bowser (2007-10) for third all-time.
 
A native of Beniparrell, Spain, Pla Hernandis has taken sole possession of sixth place all-time with 134 total shots. Seven more shots will put Pla Hernandis in a tie for fifth with Jack Jarvie (1955-58).
 
Pla Hernandis is tied for 17^th with 22 career goals. Two players are tied for 15^th with 23 goals while Matt Thompson guards 14^th all-time with 25 goals.
 
Pla Hernandis saw his 37-game streak of consecutive starts come to an end last week, a run that ranks him in the top eight all-time in recorded history.
 
THE REDHAWKS BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 1-3-1
ECC Record: 0-1
Home Record: 1-2
Away Record: 0-1-1
2023 ECC Rank: 5^th of 9
Streak: L1
Head Coach: Scott Reber | 10^th season at RWU (64-72-22, .475)
 
ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
The Redhawks come into James Egli Field with a 1-3-1 start to the season, a record that includes an in-conference 4-1 loss to Queens College (N.Y.).
 
Prior to that defeat, Roberts mounted an incredible comeback against Seton Hill University, playing to a 5-5 draw. Despite just a 1-0 deficit at halftime, the Redhawks allowed SHU to put together a 5-1 lead by the 67^th minute before scoring four unanswered goals from the 69^th to the 87^th minutes to come away with a 5-5 tie.
 
Tamas Nagy, a fifth-year forward out of Szar, Hungary, has averaged one goal per game, scoring five times in as many games. Nagy has also placed a team-best 11 of 14 shots on target.
 
Defender Nathan Ferguson, who scored against SRU last year, is back on the Redhawks roster as a graduate student. The Scarborough, Ontario native has yet to miss a minute of play this year, scoring a goal in a 2-1 loss to Malone University Sept. 7.
 
Caleb DaSilva has started all five goals in net for Roberts, entering Wednesday with a 2.72 GAA and a .683 saver percentage. The goaltender from Markham, Ontario made two saves against The Rock last year.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock will prep for PSAC West play with a week off before it welcomes No. 13 Gannon University 1 p.m. Sept. 25.





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