Bryce Dolak

Men's Soccer 10/17/2023 8:17:00 PM Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Match Preview: Pair of Nationally-Ranked Teams Do Battle as No. 10 Gannon Plays at No. 19 Mercyhurst

No. 10 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (12-0-1, 5-0-0 PSAC West) at No. 19 MERCYHURST LAKERS (11-1-0, 4-1-0 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, October 18, 2023 | 7:30 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: Saxon Stadium l Erie, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO

THE GANNON-MERCYHURST SERIES
Mercyhurst leads 35-21-4
Gannon snapped a string of six straight matches without a win against Mercyhurst with an impressive 5-1 win in the first meeting of 2023 at McConnell Family Stadium.

Last Meeting: Sept. 27, 2023 – at Gannon 5, Mercyhurst 1 | RECAP
A stingy Mercyhurst defense shut out Gannon twice in 2022 and came in allowing just two goals in six games. But once the Gannon attack got going it rolled to a 5-1 win at McConnell Family Stadium. Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) opened the scoring in the 30^th minute, assisted by James Pool (Hastings, England/Claverham) and Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena). The lead grew to 2-0 with just under three minutes remaining in the half on a Benjamin Querling (Zuelpich, Germany/Emil-Fischer Gymnasium) goal. The Golden Knights added three goals in the second half but the key moment came early in the half when Samuel Alarcon (Madrid, Spain/Colegio el Valle II) stopped a penalty kick, then an ensuing shot on the rebound. Petter Dyrkorn (Sandvika, Norway/Doenski Videregaaende Skole) followed with his first goal of the season at 69:36, assisted by Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) and Katsande. Less than three minutes later Herman Aanberg (Hamar, Norway/Wang Toppidrett Oslo) found the back of the net, assisted by Ferrer. Dylan Sumner's penalty kick in the 83rd minute averted the shutout for the Lakers, but Gannon answered with a penalty kick by Querling in the 86th minute. Alarcon turned in an outstanding effort in goal with a career-high eight saves.

ERIE, Pa. – It doesn't get any better than this! It's round two of the Gannon-Mercyhurst rivalry in men's soccer. It's two nationally-ranked teams who were chosen co-favorites in the PSAC West in the preseason poll, both riding extensive winning streaks. Mercyhurst hosts the second meeting on Wednesday, October 18 at Saxon Stadium beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Gannon comes in with a 12-0-1 record, the best start since the 1993 team opened the season with 14 straight victories, along with 5-0-0 in the PSAC West. They have run off six straight wins since the lone blemish of the season, a 1-1 tie at Saginaw Valley State on September 22. The Golden Knights remained tenth in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25. Mercyhurst is 11-1-0 and 4-1-0 in league play. The Lakers moved up one spot from 20th to 19th in the latest national poll.

Gannon won the first meeting by a 5-1 score against a Mercyhurst defense that had allowed just two goals total in the first six games. The five goals were the most in the series by either team since Mercyhurst scored five times in 2014. In addition, Gannon had not found the back of the net five times against the Lakers since a 6-0 win in 1989. The five goals were the most allowed by a Mercyhurst team since 2017.

The Golden Knights have an opportunity to sweep the Lakers for the first time since 2019. But there's more at stake than that. A Gannon win would virtually clinch the Western Division regular season crown, while a Mercyhurst win leaves the top seed in the division potentially in the hands of tiebreakers. In addition, once the PSAC Tournament starts the top remaining seed in the PSAC West following the quarterfinals will host the Final Four.

Wednesday's match pits two of the top offensive teams in Division II, with Gannon ranked third with 3.54 goals per game (46 total) and Mercyhurst not far behind in 11th at 2.7 goals per game (33 goals). The Golden Knights have allowed 11 goals and the Lakers nine.

The Gannon attack has been on fire of late, scoring 29 goals during the six-game winning streak. A total of 12 different players have scored goals.
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 is the fifth against an NCAA playoff team.

Last Time Out
Gannon won its sixth straight game thanks to a big second half at Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday. The tenth-ranked Golden Knights found themselves in a scoreless tie at the half before exploding for four goals in a span of 12 minutes. James Pool (Hastings, England/Claverham) opened the scoring at 59:16 with his eighth goal of the season. Six minutes later Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) started a run of three goals in six minutes with his 12th of the season. Benjamin Querling (Zuelpich, Germany/Emil-Fischer Gymnasium) made it 3-0 with his fifth goal, and Katsande capped the scoring spree with his 13th goal of the season at 70:57. The native of England finished with two goals and an assist while Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) assisted on three goals and Ferrer a pair. Mateo Lite (Huesca, Spain/IES Luis Bunuel) picked up his first career shutout in goal.

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 62-14-6 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 Remains Tenth in Latest United Soccer Coaches Poll
After dropping 12 spots from seventh to 19th three weeks ago in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, Gannon jumped six spots to 13th a week later. Thanks to wins over Lock Haven and Seton Hill the Golden Knights moved back into the top ten in tenth place last week, and two more wins over Slippery Rock and California (Pa.) kept the Golden Knights in tenth place this week. The Golden Knights debuted in the Top 25 in ninth place five 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).

Orten, Ferrer Sweep PSAC Weekly Awards
The Gannon men's soccer team once again swept the PSAC weekly awards this week. Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week and Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) was the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week. It marks the fourth time Ferrer has been honored by the conference and the second for Orten. A sophomore midfielder from Orsta, Norway, Orten totaled two goals and five assists in the two matches. He had two goals and two assists at Slippery Rock, then assisted on three of the four goals at UPJ. He now has three goals and 10 assists, with the latter figure ranking second on the team and in the PSAC. A redshirt sophomore defender, Ferrer had a goal and three assists in the two wins. The native of Valencia, Spain had a goal and an assist vs. Slippery Rock, scoring the first goal and assisting on the third. He followed that up with two assists at UPJ. In addition he continues to play strong defense as Gannon allowed just one goal and 22 shots in two games. The UPJ shutout was the fourth of the season. He leads the PSAC and Division II in assists with 13, adding three goals.

Golden Knights Among NCAA Division II Scoring Leaders
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 second in the country in goals and lead the PSAC with 46. Twelve different players have scored goals, with Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) grabbing the lead after scoring four goals recently vs. Lock Haven. He now has 12 goals and eight assists for 32 points. He is second in the PSAC in goals and is tied for seventh in Division II, along with leading the conference in points and second nationally. Katsande has climbed into a tie for 14th place in career goals (33) and is 14th in career points with 82. James Pool (Hastings, England/Claverham) adds eight goals and four assists for 20 points. Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) has 18 points thanks to three goals and 12 assists. The redshirt sophomore is tied for the top spot in Division II in assists.

Scouting Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst has won five straight games following Saturday's 2-0 win at California (Pa.). The victory boosted the No. 19 Lakers to 11-1-0 overall and 4-1-0 in the PSAC West. They have allowed just two goals with three shutouts during the five-match winning streak. In fact, Mercyhurst once again showcases a suffocating defense that has allowed just nine goals, and five of those came in the first meeting with Gannon. The Lakers have recorded seven shutouts. Junior midfielder Dylan Sumner, a second team All-American and the PSAC West Athlete of the Year last year, has 12 goals and 3 assists for 27 points, ranking second in the PSAC in goals and points. Andreas Rossak, a transfer from Alderson Broaddus, and Ignacio Gallego add five goals apiece. Fran Lovett ranks among the PSAC leaders in assists with seven. Nine different players have scored goals. Mattias Odelius has seen the bulk of the action in goal. The junior has six shutouts and a miniscule 0.32 GAA.

Next for the Golden Knights
Four games remain in the 2023 regular season, with three of those game set for McConnell Family Stadium. Gannon plays back-to-back home games beginning with a Saturday, October 21 match vs. California (Pa.). It will be Senior Day, with the game getting underway at 3:00 p.m. Prior to kickoff 14 seniors will be honored.

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