Preview: Colonials hope to finish season on good note

Photo credit: David Auth

Delenn Poe, Contributor

MOON TOWNSHIP — The Robert Morris Colonials men’s soccer team (5-10-1, 2-5) will take on the Saint Francis Red Flash (9-3-3, 5-0-2) on Friday, November 2nd at 3 p.m. at the North Athletic Complex. Before the game the team will be celebrating senior night and the seniors that will be honored are goalkeeper Winter Fondi, defender Owen Pearce, midfielder Kai Olguin, forward Zac Sherman, midfielder Noah Elamin and defender Mason George.

Coming into this one, the Red Flash won their last game 4-2 against Saint Francis College Brooklyn Terriers (6-9, 3-3 NEC) on Oct. 27. The Colonials last game resulted in a win 2-1 against the Mount Saint Mary’s Mountaineers (2-9-4, 1-4-2 NEC) on Oct. 26.

In order for the Colonials to make the playoffs, the following must happen:

  • RMU must beat SFU
  • SFBK must lose one match or draw both matches against MSM and Sacred Heart (3-12-1, 2-5 NEC)
  • Bryant (3-8-3, 3-2-2 NEC) or Farleigh Dickinson (6-6-4) must lose their final game (FDU plays LIU Brooklyn (11-4-1, 6-1 NEC) and Bryant plays Central Connecticut State (1-12-1, 1-6 NEC))

Recapping RMU

The Colonials last game against Mount Saint Mary’s resulted in a 2-1 win for Robert Morris. The first goal for RMU was slotted home by Christopher Coridon and that was his first goal of the season. The second and final for the Colonials and for the game was scored by Riccardo Rota and this was also his first goal of the season. He was also assisted by Zac Sherman.

The Colonials are overpowered by their opponents’ goals shot attempts with the Colonials having 14 and their opponents having 23, their opponents 1.44 and the Colonials have 0.88 goals scored per game, the Colonials have a shot percentage of .077 while their opponents is .108. The Colonials shots on goal attempts is 80 and their opponents is 90. The Colonials outscored their opponents with their shots on goal percentage at .440 while their opponents is .425, and the Colonials have 11 assists and their opponents have 24.

Scouting Saint Flash

The Red Flash last played Saint Francis Brooklyn and the Red Flash took the game 4-2. Nicco Mastrangelo scored his first two goals of the season and was assisted by Jacob Gratzer and Christian Kirchhoff. Then his brother Mario scored his ninth goal of the season and this also came with an assist from Kirchhoff. Eric Ganime scored the last goal for the Red Flash that game. This goal was his second of the season and he was assisted by Tulio Canineu and Colin Serredszum.

The Red Flash have outscored their opponents 28-18, they outshot their opponents 205-120, and they successfully put the ball in the net in both of their penalty kicks so far this season. In addition to that, SFU has more assists with 31 while their opponents have just 11. They have 81 shots on goal and their opponents have 58.

The Red Flash average shots per game is 13.7 while their opponents is 10.5. Their shots on goal percentage is .395. Their opponents shots on goal percentage is .365. SFU has a 1.87 goals scored average while they allow on average 1.20 goals per game.

Players to watch

The players to watch for the Colonials are seniors Zac Sherman, Owen Pearce and Winter Fondi. Sherman has started and played 15 of the 16 games this season. He leads the team in game winning goals two, five goals,, 32 shots, 16 shots on goal and is tied with fellow teammate Owen Pearce with four assists. Pearce has started and played all 16 games this season and is behind Sherman with three goals, 22 shots and 11 shots on goal. Fondi has played and started in 15 out of the 16 games. He has made 58 saves in those games.

The players to watch for the Red Flash are senior forward Mario Mastrangelo, freshmen goalkeeper Alex Morgret and sophomore midfieder/forward Leonardo Ribeiro. Mario Mastrangelo leads the team with nine goals, six assists and 22 shots on goal. Ribeiro is second on the team with three goals, he also has four assists and nine shots on goal. Morgret has played in 12 games but started 11. He has allowed 13 goals and has 34 saves.