ANDERSON, S.C. - Stepping away from South Atlantic Conference play for the first time since Oct. 1, Anderson University men's soccer welcomes Conference Carolinas opponent Mount Olive to Trojan Stadium on Wednesday for a nonconference showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Anderson
After a heartbreaking 2-1 double overtime setback to conference
rival Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday, the Trojans enter the midweek matchup
with a 5-6 overall record as they sit in fourth place in the league
standings with a 4-3 conference mark. Despite its setback to LR,
Anderson has won two of its last three, headlined by a
come-from-behind 2-1 road win at Newberry last Wednesday.
Leading the AU attack last week was freshman midfielder Magnus Larsen, who scored two of the team's three goals. With the back-to-back goal-scoring performances, Larsen claimed the team-lead in goal scored on the year, overtaking teammate Andre Carle with four goals. Carle follows the freshman with three goals as the tandem is responsible for seven of the team's 11 goals on the year.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Bo Haug has played in every minute between the posts since Sept. 13 as he has totaled four shutouts for the season. Haug ranks fourth in the league in goals-against average with a 1.26 mark, while he ranks 11th in the conference with 27.
Mount Olive
North Carolina's version of the Trojans come to the Upstate with a
3-7-2 overall record as they snapped a seven-match setback streak
on Saturday with a narrow 3-2 victory over conference opponent
King. After beginning the season without a loss through the first
four matches, Mount Olive went 24 days without a result, including
being shut out in six of the seven contests. The three-goal
performance against King was the most goals scored by the Trojans
since a 3-1 win against Queens on Sept. 7.
Sophomore Cooper Gaypia leads Mount Olive in goals with three, despite only starting in five matches on the year. Following Gaypia, juniors Louis Groman and Kevin Williams-Lopez are tied for second with two goals apiece. Despite being outscored 19-11 on the season, the Trojans have out-shot their opponents 151-144 for the year.
In goal, junior Nick Bernsdorf has made 10 starts and has made 40 saves. To go along with his one shutout this season, Bernsdorf is responsible for all three Mount Olive wins and holds a 1.40 goals-against average.
The Series
After not having played since both teams were members of Conference
Carolinas in 2009, Anderson and Mount Olive rekindled the rivalry
last season with AU picking up a convincing 5-1 win at Amon Field.
Five different AU players scored as returners Martin Brain, Mark
Allen, Mattias Schyberg and Aaron Roberson all notched goals.
