| GAME DAY INFORMATION |
DATE: September 5, 2019
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LOCATION: Kathy Zolad Stadium | West Haven, Conn. |
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| GAME DAY LINKS |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | HISTORY |
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WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven men's soccer team will officially kick off the 2019 season under the lights at Kathy Zolad Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 5 against Bridgeport at 7 p.m. The showdown between in-state rivals will be the first for new Chargers head coach
Brian Quinn, who will be squaring off against his old team for the first time.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Thursday's matchup will be the 30th all-time between the Chargers and Purple Knights. Bridgeport holds a 17-12 edge in the all-time series and has beaten the Chargers each of the last two seasons.
Click here for a complete series history.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS (0-0, 0-0 NE10)
New Haven will look to make strides forward in their first season under Quinn, who was hired as the 15th head coach in program history in February. The Chargers are coming off a 4-11-2 record from a season ago and were picked to finish 11th in this season's Northeast-10 Preseason Poll.
The team will feature a number of new faces to this year's program, with 12 new players added to this year's roster, including eight incoming freshmen.
Junior
Alessandro Pappalardo (Rome, Italy/Stamford) led the team in goals as a sophomore last season with five, while tying departed senior
Enrique Barboto (Tampa, Fla./Steinbrenner) for a team-leading 11 points. Senior
Nate Peduzzi (Old Lyme, Conn./Lyme-Old Lyme) was one of three Chargers with three goals last season.
Alvaro Ezpeleta (Vigo, Spain/Colegio Amor de Dios) leads all returners with three assists from a year ago.
Between the posts, senior
Stefano Lorusso (Auckland, New Zealand/Sacred Heart College) made 11 appearances, including 10 starts in goal for the Chargers in 2018. Current junior
Justin Dansereau (Billerica, Mass./Central Catholic) made seven starts as a sophomore, ranking third in the NE10 with 14 goals allowed while picking up three wins.
SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (0-0, 0-0 ECC)
Bridgeport enters 2019 with high hopes following a 10-4-1 record last season, finishing fifth in the East Coast Conference, just two points shy of a birth to the ECC Tournament. UB was also tabbed fifth in this year's preseason rankings. The Purple Knights will return their top eight scorers from a season ago, led by All-ECC performer Leandro Avila, who led the team with 20 points off eight goals and four assists. Fellow senior Nikolai Vadseth totaled 19 points last season, and sophomore Oscar Facey netted five goals as a true freshman while tying for a team-high four assists.
Midfielder Lucas Santos returns to the Bridgeport midfield after earning second team all-conference honors in 2018, and Third Team All-ECC selection Marlon Montanella will anchor the defensive back line.
ON DECK
The Chargers will continue their four-game homestand to start the season on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. against Molloy.
Live stats and
live video will be available for all games.
