PREVIEW: Men's Soccer Ready to Host Men's Soccer Tournament (11/3 - 11/5)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE/INFORMATION
2017 SCAC Men's soccer Championship Website
SOCIAL MEDIA
UD Twitter: @UDallasSports
UD Men's Soccer Twitter: @UDsoccer
UD Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics
UD Instagram: udallasathletics
KICKOFF
The University of Dallas men's soccer team hosts the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Men's Soccer Tournament from November 3rd – 5th. The Crusaders (12-3-2, 10-2-2 SCAC) boasted their best conference record since joining in 2012 en route to their highest finish in the standings with a second place finish.
With the second seed, Dallas earned a first round bye on Friday, and will get its first match in the tournament the next day at 1:30 p.m. The host school will await with winner of the third-seeded Colorado College and sixth-seeded Southwestern University. That matchup is slated for 1:30 p.m. on Friday and will follow the tournament opener at 11 a.m. featuring fourth-seeded Austin College and fifth-seeded Texas Lutheran University. Regular season champion No. 2 Trinity University earned the top seed outright and will play at 11 a.m. on Saturday against the winner of Austin College and Texas Lutheran.
Dallas has qualified for the conference tournament four straight years, but has never faced either of its potential opponents on Saturday in a postseason match.
Twice this season the Crusaders put together stretches of at least six games without a loss. The most recent was a season-long, six-game winning streak that included five conference matches. That streak was ended by one of UD's potential tournament foes, Colorado College, in a 2-1 final last Friday.
BEST SCAC SEASON
The majority of Dallas' successful season stems from its highest win total and points in the SCAC. 14 of the 17 matches on UD's ledger in 2017 were conference games that saw the team go 10-2-2 for 32 points.
The Crusaders opened conference play at Colorado College and shared a point after a scoreless tie in 105 minutes. After a two-hour lightening delay, the squads competed on a sloppy field but were unable to determine a winner in a shortened final due to darkness.
Dallas followed up that performance with a dramatic 3-2 overtime win at No. 4 (at the time) Trinity University for the program's first win in San Antonio. It was only the team's second in school history, with the other coming in 2015. Chima Ogueri (Garland, Texas) provided the heroic golden goal and had two in the match. The win also snuffed a 47-game home winning streak dating back to 2013 for the Tigers.
Earning four points in road matches against two teams that had finished top two in the conference the past three seasons created confidence for UD to rattle off seven consecutive matches without a loss. That spanned through the first half of SCAC action and featured four victories decided by one goal.
A rematch with Trinity halted the stretch with a double overtime thriller, 3-2. However, the Crusaders erased a 2-0 deficit with Chase Reynolds (Southlake, Texas) scoring in the 30th minute. Nat Kajiwara (Southlake, Texas) knotted the game early in the second half, and from there it was back-and-forth in opportunities until the 103:25 minute mark saw the opponent give UD its only other setback of the year – both in the second extra frame.
UD bounced back with its longest winning streak since 2008 (10 games) with six in a row. Half of those triumphs were consecutive shutouts, which the Crusaders tallied seven in the regular season.
There were two previous seasons that Dallas posted a .500 or better record in the conference. In 2015, the Crusaders had their best SCAC mark at that time with a 7-4-2 display. They also earned the number three seed, but fell in double overtime 1-0 to Schreiner University in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The 2014 team went 6-6-2.
Despite having the sixth seed a year ago, the Crusaders battled Texas Lutheran University to a 110-minute draw. UD did not advance due to the Bulldogs winning the shootout.
FAMILIAR WITH OT
The Crusaders started out the campaign with four contests that went into overtime, and have played six beyond regulation six times. Dallas is 2-2-2 in such games this year.
FRESHMEN PRESCENCE
Kajiwara has impacted the offense in his first season nine goals to rank third in the conference and lead the team. He sits second on the squad with 21 points, and is fourth in the conference for that category.
Reynolds is the team leader in assists with seven and had six of those in conference. Tomas DePetris (Houston, Texas) has contributed three goals and four assists to round out a sextet of players to eclipse double-digits in points.
Sean Carlin (Puyallup, Wash.) has suited up as the goalkeeper in 16 matches for a total of 1,343:57 minutes. He is 10-2-2 with five shutouts and 46 saves. Carlin ranks third currently in fewest goals against (13) and goals-against average (0.87). His .780 save percentage is fourth.
Altogether seven freshmen have appeared in at least 15 matches for Dallas. Additional to the quartet above, Cody Briggs (Houston, Texas), Nate Riddle (Millsboro, Del.), and Brady McNamara (San Antonio, Texas) have played in all 17 contests while contributing to a combined eight points.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
Not getting lost in the shuffle are returners headlined by Hunter Haugland (Bixby, Okla.) with a team-high 22 points that is third best in the SCAC. His eight goals follow fellow teammate Kajiwara and is tied fourth most. The sophomore owns six assists in just as many games. Four times this fall, Haugland has posted a score and assist.
Ogueri and Andrew Ciancone (Houston, Texas) have chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Eric Haigh (Frisco, Texas) and A.J. Zaugg (Dallas, Texas) have anchored a defense that has allowed 16 goals altogether. Sean Taylor (Austin, Texas) is another captain that has played 10 matches and aided the defense the first month. Luke Schwarz (Tucson, Ariz.) and Jake Schnell (Austin, Texas) are a pair of four-year letter winners, and Trae Hampton (Paducah, Ky.) has played 53 matches his past three seasons.
WEEKLY RECOGNITION
The Crusaders have amassed several weekly accolades, including their highest count from the SCAC. Ogueri, Kajiwara, and Ciancone pulled in SCAC Offensive Player of the Weeks and Haigh added a Defensive Player of the Week. Carlin was honored two different occasions by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).
Dallas as a team began receiving votes in the weekly United Soccer Coaches (USC) Rankings and d3soccer.com poll. Entering this weekend, a trio of SCAC soccer programs are ranked in the top six of the West Region. Trinity and Colorado College hold the top two spots, respectively, and the Crusaders complete the top six.
BY THE NUMBERS
No. 1-Seed Trinity University Season Stats
No. 2-Seed Dallas Season Stats
No. 3-Seed Colorado College Season Stats
No. 4-Seed Austin College Season Stats