ANDERSON, S.C. - In one of the most highly anticipated matches of the 2014 Anderson University men's soccer schedule, the Trojans welcome Queens to the Upstate on Wednesday in a rematch of last season's South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship. Kickoff from Trojan Stadium is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
The Trojans
After beginning the season with back-to-back setbacks, AU has
caught fire and has won three straight contests headlined by three
straight shutouts. Anderson grabbed its first victory over SAC foe
Catawba on Sept. 13, and followed that win with back-to-back 1-0
wins over archrival Erskine on Sept. 17 and Coker last Saturday.
The streak puts Anderson a match above .500 on the year, while it
sits in a tie with Lenoir-Rhyne for first place in the league
standings.
On Saturday, AU will have an opportunity to match last season's longest winning streak of four straight. Last season's edition of the Trojans posted four straight wins twice, including a four-match winning streak to begin the season.
Leading the Trojan offense has been junior Andre Carle and freshman Magnus Larsen, who enter Wednesday's matchup with two goals apiece. Carle and Larsen found game-winning goals last week as an 86th minute tally from Larsen handed AU the win over Erskine, while an 83rd minute goal from Carle pushed the Trojans past Coker on Saturday. For the year, the attacking tandem combines for 23 shots and 10 shots on goal.
In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Bo Haug was responsible for all three clean sheets, as the Stuttgart, Germany native now has nine shutouts for his two-year career. For the season, Haug has made eight saves and is tied for the conference lead in goals against with three.
The Royals
Despite Queens' memorable 2013 season that saw the Royals claim the
SAC regular season and tournament crowns in its first season as SAC
members, Queens has gotten off to a slow start, entering
Wednesday's match with a 1-5 overall record. After five straight
setbacks to open the year, the Royals landed in the win column for
the first time on Friday when they knocked off Brevard, 5-0.
Similar to Anderson, Queens is led by two players with two goals apiece as Luis Campos and Isaac Walker have scored twice this season, despite combining for just five shots. Ryan Ejezie and Marc-Kevin Schwenk lead the Royals in shots with 15 and 12, respectively, while Schwenk is one of four Queens' players with a goal on the year.
Preseason All-SAC First Team Selection Montrell Morgan returns to the Queens goal after blanking the Trojans in the tournament final a season ago. Morgan has tallied 32 saves on the year, which ranks second in the conference, and holds a .762 save percentage.
The Series
The Royals got the best of Anderson in both meetings last season,
as the SAC newcomers grabbed a 3-2 overtime win over the Trojans
during the regular season and followed with a 2-0 win in last
season's title match. The two matchups last season were the first
two since both programs were in Conference Carolinas in 2009.
