Gannon vs. Ashland
Bryce Dolak

Men's Soccer Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Match Preview: No. 10 Golden Knights Begin Three-Game Road Trip at Slippery Rock

No. 10 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (10-0-1, 3-0-0 PSAC West) at SLIPPERY ROCK THE ROCK (2-4-4, 1-2-0 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, October 11, 2023 | 4:00 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: James Egli Field l Slippery Rock, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
 
THE GANNON-SLIPPERY ROCK SERIES
SRU leads 23-22-2
Gannon won by shutout in both meetings last year, taking the opener at Slippery Rock 2-0 before posting a 1-0 whitewash at Gannon on October 12. The Golden Knights are 8-0-1 in the last nine meetings with The Rock, with SRU last prevailing in 2015.

Last Meeting: Oct. 12, 2022 – at Gannon 1, Slippery Rock 0 | RECAP
Gannon dominated the action, holding a wide 19-3 advantage in shots, but Slippery Rock goalkeeper Hossam Aly was up to the challenge on all but one occasion. Sergio Del Castillo (Madrid, Spain) was able to get a shot past Aly in the 39th minute for the lone goal of the match. Herman Aanberg (Hamar, Norway/Wang Toppidrett Oslo) and Joe Knox (Gold Coast, Australia/The Southport School) assisted on the goal. Samuel Alarcon (Madrid, Spain/Colegio el Valle II) recorded the shutout in goal.

 
ERIE, Pa. – Gannon has climbed to tenth in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 with a 10-0-1 record. That includes a 3-0-0 mark in the PSAC West, with the Golden Knights looking to improve on those numbers with a match at Slippery Rock on Wednesday, October 11. The match gets underway at 4:00 p.m. Gannon was chosen the preseason co-favorite in the PSAC West while Slippery Rock was picked fourth.

After opening the season with six wins the Golden Knights tied Saginaw Valley State 1-1. Since then they have run four straight wins scoring five goals in three of those contests and outscoring the four opponents by an 18-3 margin.

Slippery Rock will be playing a nationally-ranked team for the second straight match after suffering a 3-1 loss to 20th-ranked Mercyhurst on Saturday. SRU has a 2-4-4 record and is 1-2-0 in the PSAC West. However, The Rock is 2-1-0 at home on James Egli Field.

Gannon's 10-0-1 start is the best since the 1993 team started the season with 14 straight wins. The Golden Knights debuted in ninth place in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 several weeks ago and climbed to seventh a week later. They tumbled to 19th following the tie at Saginaw Valley State, then moved up to 13th last week on the strength of a 5-1 upset of No. 7 Mercyhurst. Now they've reached the top ten again.

Head coach Billy Colton put his Golden Knights through an early schedule that was not only tough but featured four long road trips that were almost 3,000 miles round trip. Gannon came away with wins over Ashland (3-1) and St. Rose (1-0) along with a 1-1 tie at Saginaw Valley State. The Mercyhurst match was the fourth against an NCAA playoff team. 

Last Time Out
Gannon posted a methodical 3-0 shutout of Seton Hill on a rainy and windy Saturday night. The Golden Knights dominated play throughout the night, holding a 24-5 advantage in shots. They managed one goal with the wind on Lennox Crews' (Offenbach, Germany/Leibnizschule) long free kick from the right wing in the 23rd minute, his first of the season, then added two more goals in the second. The first was courtesy of Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) on an assist by Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) at 65:36. Just under 15 minutes later Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) scored an insurance goal, his ninth of the season, on a beautiful goal with assists to Ferrer and Charlie Petersen (Erie, Pa./McDowell). Samuel Alarcon (Madrid, Spain/Colegio el Valle II) was in goal for his third shutout of the season.   

Head Coach: Billy Colton is in his fifth season as Gannon's head men's soccer coach in 2023, and his ninth year overall as a member of the staff. He owns a 60-14-6 record with the Golden Knights making the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2019 and 2022. (NOTE: The NCAA did not hold a tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19). It marked the first time Gannon's men's soccer team made consecutive NCAA Tournaments since 1989-90. Colton guided Gannon to a 13-5-2 finish in 2022, picking up his 50th career victory with a 4-3 win over Seton Hill in the PSAC Tournament quarterfinals. He is the second-fastest coach to 50 wins in Gannon annals, exceeded only by Rob Russo who won 60 matches in his first four seasons. However, Colton was limited to just six matches in 2020 due to COVID. He was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year in 2018 after leading the Golden Knights to an 18-3-0 finish, the second-best in school history.

Gannon Jumps Three Spots to Tenth in Latest United Soccer Coaches Poll
After dropping 12 spots from seventh to 19th two weeks ago in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, Gannon jumped six spots to 13th last week. Now thanks to wins over Lock Haven and Seton Hill the Golden Knights have moved back into the top ten in tenth place. The Golden Knights debuted in the Top 25 in ninth place four weeks ago, then moved up two spots to seventh a week later. A 1-1 tie to a Saginaw Valley State team that was in the NCAA Tournament last year led to the drop of 12 spots two weeks ago. In addition they remain second in the Atlantic Region, trailing Charleston (WV).
 
Katsande, Ferrer Sweep PSAC Weekly Awards
The Gannon men's soccer team has swept the PSAC weekly awards for the third time this year  (once with co-honorees) after the conference announced its awards on Monday. Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) was selected the PSAC West Athlete of the Week while Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) was named the Defensive Athlete of the Week. This makes back-to-back weeks for Katsande to win the conference honor after being selected the co-player of the week a year ago, while Ferrer is now a three-time recipient of the player of the week recognition. The duo paced No. 13 Gannon to a 2-0 week as the Golden Knights defeated Lock Haven 5-2 and Seton Hill 3-0. A native of Norwich, England, Katsande scored five goals on the week to boost his season total to nine goals. That is tied for first in the PSAC, and with six assists his 24 points pace the PSAC. He accounted for a career-high four goals on six shots in a 5-2 win over Lock Haven last Wednesday. On Saturday he clinched the win over Seton Hill with a goal on his only shot. The graduate student has climbed into the top 20 in career goals (30) and points (74) at Gannon. The PSAC Freshman of the Year last season, Ferrer has not suffered through a sophomore slump. The defender from Valencia, Spain is a standout on both ends of the pitch. He spearheaded a back line that allowed just two goals on the week as Gannon posted its third shutout of the season vs. Seton Hill. He accounted for a goal and an assist in the win over Seton Hill. It was his second goal of the season and he leads the PSAC with 10 assists. The latter figure ranks among the top figures in Division II.

No Problem with Scoring
When the season began the biggest question surrounding Gannon was who would pick up the slack with the loss of All-American Sergio Del Castillo (Madrid, Spain). Del Castillo led Division II in goals last year with 23 and finished with 52 points. Gannon has done just fine without him, thank you. The Golden Knights rank sixth in the country in goals and lead the PSAC with 32. Eleven different players have scored goals, with Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) grabbing the lead after scoring four goals last Wednesday vs. Lock Haven. He now has nine goals and six assists for 24 points. He is tied for the PSAC in goals and is tied for seventh in Division II, along with leading the conference in points and tied for sixth nationally. Katsande has climbed into 16th place in career goals (30) and is 18th in career points with 74. James Pool (Hastings, England/Claverham) adds seven goals and two assists for 16 points, ranking third in the PSAC in goals. Meanwhile Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) has a PSAC-leading ten assists, tied for the top figure in Division II.

Scouting Slippery Rock
Slippery Rock was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West and enters Wednesday's match at 2-4-4 overall and 1-2-0 in the PSAC West. The Rock comes off a 3-1 loss to No. 20 Mercyhurst on Saturday. The bulk of SRU's scoring comes from four players. They have combined for 13 of the team's 15 goals. Arturo Pla Hernandis leads the way with six goals for 12 points. The junior was a second team All-PSAC West honoree a year ago when he finished with eight goals. Aitor Jorde adds three goals. Adam Davies has played every minute in goal and owns a 1.80 GAA with 40 saves.

Next for the Golden Knights
Gannon continues a three-game road swing on Saturday, October 14 playing at Pitt-Johnstown. The match gets underway at 12 noon. The Golden Knights have to be wary of looking ahead to a showdown at Mercyhurst on Wednesday, October 18.
 
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Players Mentioned

Sergio Del Castillo

#10 Sergio Del Castillo

M
5' 11"
Senior
Joe Knox

#9 Joe Knox

M/F
6' 1"
Graduate Student
International Management
Herman Aanberg

#10 Herman Aanberg

M
5' 10"
Junior
Samuel Alarcon

#1 Samuel Alarcon

GK
6' 0"
Sophomore
Cyber Engineering
Pau Ferrer

#4 Pau Ferrer

D
5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Computer Science
Sverre Orten

#23 Sverre Orten

M
5' 9"
Sophomore
Business Administration 
Charlie Petersen

#21 Charlie Petersen

M
6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
James Pool

#6 James Pool

M
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
Tinashe Katsande

#7 Tinashe Katsande

F
6' 3"
Graduate Student
Lennox Crews

#22 Lennox Crews

D
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

Sergio Del Castillo

#10 Sergio Del Castillo

5' 11"
Senior
M
Joe Knox

#9 Joe Knox

6' 1"
Graduate Student
International Management
M/F
Herman Aanberg

#10 Herman Aanberg

5' 10"
Junior
M
Samuel Alarcon

#1 Samuel Alarcon

6' 0"
Sophomore
Cyber Engineering
GK
Pau Ferrer

#4 Pau Ferrer

5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Computer Science
D
Sverre Orten

#23 Sverre Orten

5' 9"
Sophomore
Business Administration 
M
Charlie Petersen

#21 Charlie Petersen

6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
M
James Pool

#6 James Pool

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
M
Tinashe Katsande

#7 Tinashe Katsande

6' 3"
Graduate Student
F
Lennox Crews

#22 Lennox Crews

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
D