The No. 13 Charlotte men’s soccer team in the Atlantic 10 conference continued its success this past weekend, when defender Nathan Mathers earned the nod from College Soccer News as part of the National Team of the Week.
Mathers and the 49ers (8-1-3, 2-0-1 A-10) competed this weekend against Saint Louis, which is right behind them in the A-10 conference standings. With this in mind, both teams looked to capitalize and move up the table. Charlotte outlasted the Billikens (7-5-0, 2-1-0 A-10) by a score of 2-1.
The 49ers showed their dominance early in the match, putting two goals into the back of the goal in the first half. Midfielder Luke Exley (sixth in the A-10 for goals and assists) scored his team’s first goal of the game. The second goal came from midfielder Adam Gross, who scored two goals in last weeks 6-0 beating over George Washington. Gross was on the College Soccer News’ National Team of the Week earlier this season.
Mathers is a part of Charlotte’s strong defense, which has allowed one goal in 410 minutes of play. The one goal was scored in the match against Saint Louis, put in by freshman Benny Estes.
Dayton on 8-game winning streak
After this past weekend, Dayton remains undefeated through A-10 conference play in the midst of its eight-game winning streak which includes five shutouts.
The latest match in this streak came on Oct. 18 when the Flyers (8-3-1, 3-0-0 A-10) took on Duquesne. Dayton scored both of its two goals before the 20th minute of the match.
Forward Peter Chilemena, who has five goals on the season, scored the Flyers’ first goal. He is now tied for sixth in the A-10 for goals scored. Senior Isaac Kissi struck two minutes later with a tally of his own.
Kissi, who was named Co-Player of the Week last week, leads Dayton with seven goals scored. With seven goals, Kissi sits at third place in the entire A-10 conference.
Defensively, the Flyers have proven to be quite successful as well. The match against the Dukes (6-5-2, 1-2-1 A-10) was the sixth shutout of the season. Five came in the last six games.
Season of woes continues for Saint Joseph’s
Unless Saint Joseph’s has a drastic turnaround this season, it will have a hard time getting out of the A-10 cellar. The latest loss came from a 2-0 shutout to Massachusetts.
The Hawks (0-11-0, 0-3-0 A-10) have been shutout seven times all season (four away, three home), and have allowed 34 goals to bypass their keeper into the back of the net.
Saint Joseph’s has scored four goals all season, the last of which coming in its Oct. 10 loss to Temple (2-1) in front of a record crowd of 609 people.
The schedule for Saint Joseph’s doesn’t show a bright side either, as it faces off with A-10 leader Fordham on Oct. 30, and No. 13 Charlotte a week later. Two days following the match against the nationally ranked 49ers, the Hawks will take on second-place Saint Louis.
Luckily for Saint Joseph’s, the matches against Charlotte and the Billikens will take place on its home pitch. The Hawks will look to elevate their game to try and come away with a victory this season.
Herb Scribner can be reached at [email protected].
