Charlie Petersen
Bryce Dolak

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

Match Preview: No. 19 Golden Knights Back on the Road at California (Pa.)

No. 19 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (7-0-1, 1-0-0 PSAC West) at CALIFORNIA (PA) VULCANS (3-4-1, 1-0-0 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, September 30, 2023 | 3:30 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: Phillipsburg Soccer Facility l California, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
 
THE GANNON-CALIFORNIA (PA) SERIES
Gannon leads 21-7-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 22, 2022 – Gannon 2, at Cal (Pa.) 0 | RECAP
Gannon won by scores of 7-1 and 2-0 a year ago against the Vulcans. The first meeting at McConnell Family Stadium featured five goals from Sergio Del Castillo (Madrid, Spain) as Gannon pulled away after leading 2-1 at the half. The second meeting was much closer with the Golden Knights scoring just before the end of the half before scoring an insurance goal in the final minute. The win clinched a PSAC Tournament berth for the Golden Knights. Gannon has now won five matches in a row against the Vulcans and nine of the last ten in a series that first began in 1989.
 
ERIE, Pa. – In what many times is called a "trap game", the Gannon men's soccer team must be wary of a letdown following an emotional 5-1 win over Mercyhurst on Wednesday. The Golden Knights play on the road for the fifth time in the last six matches when they travel to California (Pa.) for a 3:30 p.m. game at the Phillipsburg Soccer Facility.

Gannon is ranked 19th in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 and improved to 7-0-1 and 1-0-0 in the PSAC West with Wednesday's upset of No. 10 Mercyhurst. The two teams were chosen preseason co-favorites in the Western Division. California (Pa.) has won back-to-back games following Wednesday's 2-1 win over Slippery Rock, improving to 3-4-1 and 1-0-0 in conference play. The Vulcans were picked to finish fifth in the PSAC West.

Head coach Billy Colton loaded the Gannon schedule with long and tough road contests to start the season. In fact the Mercyhurst match was the first at home since September 6. After that the Golden Knights played four matches on the road with three of those vs. NCAA Division II Tournament teams. All told the round trips totaled close to 3,000 yards, and 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 stunned No. 10 Mercyhurst 5-1, scoring five times against a defense that had allowed two goals all season. It snapped a six-match winless streak against the Lakers and was the most goals scored by the Golden Knights vs. their crosstown rivals since 1989. Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) scored the first of his two goals in the 30th minute and the lead grew to 2-0 less than three minutes before the half as Benjamin Querling (Zuelpich, Germany/Emil-Fischer Gymnasium) scored the first of his two goals. Petter Dyrkorn (Sandvika, Norway/Doenski Videregaaende Skole) and Katsande scored less than three minutes aprt midway through the second half as the lead expanded to 4-0. The teams would exchange penalty kick goals in the final eight minutes. Gannon made the most of its scoring opportunities as Mercyhurst held a 20-15 advantage in shots. 

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 57-14-6 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 Now 19th in Latest United Soccer Coaches Poll
Gannon debuted in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 in ninth place two weeks ago, then moved up two spots to seventh last week. A 1-1 tie to a Saginaw Valley State team that was in the NCAA Tournament last year left the Golden Knights with a 6-0-1 record. The tie led to a drop of 12 spots in the latest poll released on Tuesday, as the Golden Knights are now 19th. In addition they are now third in the Atlantic Region after being first last week.
 
Alarcon Named PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week for Second Time in Two Weeks; Brilliant in Win over Lakers
Sophomore goalkeeper Samuel Alarcon (Madrid, Spain/Colegio el Valle II) was named as the PSAC West Men's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week on Monday. It was the second time in three weeks the native of Spain has earned the honor. Alarcon totaled 180 minutes between the pipes and secured five saves en route to helping Gannon go 1-0-1 for the week. Against Saint Rose, Alarcon recorded his first shutout of the season and fifth of his career in a 1-0 shutout of the other Golden Knights. He had four saves in a 1-1 tie at Saginaw Valley State. For the week he faced 25 shots in the two matches. Alarcon laid claim to this coming weeks' award with a brilliant effort against Mercyhurst. He recorded a career-high eight saves, including one sequence where he stopped a penalty kick by 2022 PSAC West Athlete of the Year Dylan Sumner, then when the ball rebounded back to Sumner, stopped a second attempt. Gannon led 2-0 at the time.  A week ago Gannon swept the PSAC West weekly awards. Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) was named the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week and Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) was selected the Defensive Athlete of the Week. Ferrer was named the initial 2023 PSAC West Athlete of the Week.

Scouting California (Pa.)
California (Pa.) is on a roll with back-to-back wins following Wednesday's 2-1 win over Slippery Rock. That was preceded by a 5-1 win at D'Youville. Oddly enough, prior to that the Vulcans had been shut out while losing all three of its previous matches, being outscored 1-0 while losing to Cedarville, West Liberty and West Virginia Wesleyan. The win over Slippery Rock boosted the Vulcans to 3-4-1 and 1-0-0 in the PSAC West. Cal scored both goals in the first five minutes of the second half with SRU scoring with 12 minutes remaining. Andriy Bilous leads the Vulcans with three goals and two assists for eight points while Jacob Gretz has two goals and an assist. Payton Smith (2.25 GAA) and AJ Visco (2.75 GAA) have shared time equally in goal. California (Pa.) was picked to finish fifth in the PSAC West preseason poll.

Next for the Golden Knights
After playing five of the previous six matches on the road Gannon returns to McConnell Family Stadium for back-to-back games. The Golden Knights host Lock Haven in a non-conference game on Wednesday, October 4 at 4:00 p.m. On Saturday, October 7 Seton Hill visits McConnell Family Stadium. The action gets underway at 7:30 p.m. 
 
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Players Mentioned

Sergio Del Castillo

#10 Sergio Del Castillo

M
5' 11"
Senior
Samuel Alarcon

#1 Samuel Alarcon

GK
6' 0"
Sophomore
Cyber Engineering
Petter Dyrkorn

#3 Petter Dyrkorn

D
5' 10"
Senior
Pau Ferrer

#4 Pau Ferrer

D
5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Computer Science
Sverre Orten

#23 Sverre Orten

M
5' 9"
Sophomore
Business Administration 
Benjamin Querling

#11 Benjamin Querling

F
6' 1"
Senior
Tinashe Katsande

#7 Tinashe Katsande

F
6' 3"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Sergio Del Castillo

#10 Sergio Del Castillo

5' 11"
Senior
M
Samuel Alarcon

#1 Samuel Alarcon

6' 0"
Sophomore
Cyber Engineering
GK
Petter Dyrkorn

#3 Petter Dyrkorn

5' 10"
Senior
D
Pau Ferrer

#4 Pau Ferrer

5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Computer Science
D
Sverre Orten

#23 Sverre Orten

5' 9"
Sophomore
Business Administration 
M
Benjamin Querling

#11 Benjamin Querling

6' 1"
Senior
F
Tinashe Katsande

#7 Tinashe Katsande

6' 3"
Graduate Student
F