GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: Oct. 5, 2022 LOCATION: Kathy Zolad Stadium, West Haven, Conn. GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

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THE LEAD
The New Haven men's soccer team will stay at home for one last game before hitting the road, hosting the Owls of Southern Connecticut. The Chargers, who are coming off a 3-0 loss to Southern New Hampshire on Saturday, will look to pick up their first win of the season against their crosstown rivals. The Elm City showdown is set to kick off at 4:00 P.M. at Kathy Zolad Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

SERIES HISTORY VS SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE 
This will be the 57th meeting between the two programs in this historic rivalry. The Chargers trail in the series 12-41-3 with their last victory coming on Oct. 9, 2021 when New Haven defeated the Owls in a 2-0 shutout. That was the team's first win in the series since the Charger's 2-1 overtime win on Oct. 31, 1984. Between New Haven wins, Southern Connecticut won 31 of 34 games while settling for three draws.The series dates way back to 1968 when New Haven fell to the Owls 3-0 in the inaugural game. The Blue & Gold will look to defeat Southern Connecticut in front of home crowd for the ninth time in team history as they hold a 8-14-1 record when hosting the Owls.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS (0-6-4)
After scoring a season-high three goals against Saint Rose last Wednesday, the University of New Haven men's soccer team was blanked their last time out in a 3-0 loss to Southern New Hampshire. The loss knocked the Chargers down to 0-6-4 on the season as they currently sit 11th in the conference standings.

New Haven held the Penmen scoreless through the first half of play but a trio of unanswered goals were too much for the Chargers to come back from.

The Chargers attempted four first half shots, as opposed to the Penmen's seven, with Adam Lindstrom (Orbero, Sweden/Grillska Gymnasiet) taking three of them. Alexander Gunnarsson (Kopavogur, Iceland/Verzlenarskoli Islands) was responsible for the only other shot in the half. None of New Haven's shots were on goal, however the Chargers recorded two corner kicks.

Dante Polletta (Prospect, Conn./Woodland Regional), who tallied an assist in the team's season opener, attempted a pair of shots in the closing half. In the 52nd minute, Polletta put up the Chargers's lone shot on goal on a bottom center kick.

Guillem Barnils (Barcelona, Spain/Escola Pia Nostrasenyora) leads the team with two goals while four Chargers have recorded a solo goal. Tyler Pereira (Fairhaven, Mass./Fairhaven) netted one in the team's season opener against Bridgeport while Lindstrom, Devon Polletta (Prospect, Conn./Woodland Regional) and Chris Chyzowych (Flemington, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's) all scored in the team's 3-3 draw against Saint Rose.

Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Lunn (Southington, Conn./Southington) made his first career start between the post as a Charger. Lunn, who was faced with 10 shots on goal, allowed three goals while tallying seven saves. While only 10 shots were on goal, the Penmen attempted 21 total shots in the game, 14 of which were in the second half.

Themis Kastoris (Gothenburg, Sweden/Kitas Gymnasiet), who received a red card last week for denying a goal scoring opportunity, has started nine games on the season. The sophomore goalkeeper has allowed 12 goals while tallying 34 saves, tied for fifth in the conference. 

Out of all 18 Chargers who have attempted one or more shots, Gunnarsson holds the lead for shots taken with 18 while Barnils and Lindstrom follow behind with 15 shots.

SCOUTING THE OWLS (4-3-3)
The Owls look to redeem themselves after finishing the 2021 season with a 4-12-1 record, with all four wins coming in conference play. In the new campaign, Southern Connecticut has already tied their number of wins from a season prior as they enter the matchup with a 4-3-3 record. The Owls are coming off a 2-2 tie with the Le Moyne Dolphins on Saturday while their last win came on Sept. 17 against the Saint Anselm Hawks.

Sophomore midfielder Yannick Hilpert has been the Owl's lead scorer this season with three goals scored and an assist on only six shots. Two of his goals came in the team's 3-1 win over Mercy in early September while his third goal came a game later against Staten Island.

Joshi Munoz, Arnold Signell, Zico Groenveld and Hideki Morales have all tallied a pair of goals this season while the former two also added an assist. Sophomore forward Leroy Best and freshman midfielder Karim Said, who each scored in the draw with Le Moyne, have combined for five assists this season. 

Rounding out the Southern Connecticut scorers are Murphy Malone and Zachary Tuccitto, who have a single goal on the year while Umberto Catale assisted on Murphy's goal against Staten Island.

Groenveld, a freshman forward, was named the NE10 Rookie of the Week for the opening week after he kicked off his SCSU career with a goal in the Owl's first two games. Groenveld scored the Owls' first goal of the season in a 2-0 win at Dominican, which stood as the game-winner, before scoring the game-tying goal off a penalty kick in a 1-1 draw at Bridgeport.

While the team ranks tied for fifth in the NE10 in goals scored as a team with 15, their defense has been essential, allowing only 11 goals this season. The Owls ranked sixth in the conference in points while allowing a sixth least amount of goals scored.

Sophomore goalkeeper Devin Juan has started all ten games in goal, allowing 11 goals while making 44 saves. Juan's 44 saves rank second among all NE10 goalkeepers while his .800 save percentage places him fourth.

Southern Connecticut boasts a young roster, comprised of 28 players. The roster is broken down into eight freshman, 14 sophomores, one junior, three seniors, and two graduate students. The Owls carry four goalkeepers, eight defenseman, 11 midfielders and five forwards on their roster.

Head Coach Tom Lang entered his 25th year as the Owls' head coach in 2021-22, and his 36th year overall. In his time at the helm, Lang has led the Owls to 13 NCAA Division ll tournament appearances while taking home the hardware in back to back seasons in 1998-99. He is the winningest coach in program history at Southern Connecticut while also having the most wins of any active head coach in the NE10. Lang ranks second all-time in NE10 men's soccer history.

Southern Connecticut, who was voted eighth in the 2022 NE10 preseason coaches' poll with 53 points, is currently ranked 9th in the NE10 standings with a conference record of 1-2-2.

UP NEXT
New Haven will hit the road after their extended homestand with a trip to New York to take on the Le Moyne Dolphins. Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 12:00 P.M. at Ted Grant Field on Oct. 8.