NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion men’s soccer hosts Florida Atlantic for the home season finale on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex. The match determines which team clinches the seventh seed and last spot in the 2016 C-USA Men’s Soccer Tournament in Huntington, W.Va. Nov. 9-13.
The match will be available for fans to watch on C-USA TV as well as through live stats here. Tomorrow’s match marks the last home game for the five seniors, Alex Tiesenhausen, Jesse Miralrio, Cole Stringer, Christian Wirth and Nick Hutchinson.
OLD DOMINION (4-7-2, 1-4-1 C-USA)
Old Dominion fell against FIU 4-1 on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the ODU Soccer Complex in Norfolk, Va. Sebastien Hauret scored the lone Monarch goal on a penalty kick in the 78th minute to prevent ODU from getting shutout for the fourth time this season.
The Monarchs led the match in most categories including a 21-13 shot differential and a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. FIU’s goalkeeper, Daniel Gagliardi, led the saves column with nine while Tiesenhausen tallied three on the night.
With his goal Saturday night, Hauret took over the points lead again with nine this season on two goals and five assists. Niko Klosterhalfen sits second in points with seven off three goals and an assist while Miralrio is third with six points on three goals.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC (4-9-1, 2-5 C-USA)
Florida Atlantic enters the match on Tuesday after getting shutout by No. 8 Charlotte on Saturday, Oct. 29. The loss was the sixth time this season the Owls had been held without a goal during the match.
Jason Fitzgerald is the leading score on the Florida Atlantic roster with three goals and seven points this season. Just behind him is Elijah McDonald with two goals while six other athletes have scored for the Owls this season.
Phillip Hitpass has started 12-of-14 matches for the Owls and has given up 15 goals to opponent’s offensive attacks. He holds a 1.21 goals against average, 51 saves and a .773 save percentage through 1,112:06 minutes in net.
C-USA TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
The men’s hopes of getting into the 2016 C-USA Men’s Soccer tournament are still alive. Tuesday’s match against Florida Atlantic is crucial for both teams as they sit on the bubble of making the tournament. Below is a breakdown of scenarios that need to happen for either team to reach this year’s tournament.
- If Florida Atlantic defeats ODU on Tues. Nov. 1, the Owls would advance to the 2016 C-USA Men’s Soccer tournament
- If ODU wins against Florida Atlantic on Tues. Nov. 1, the Monarchs would advance to the 2016 C-USA Men’s Soccer tournament
- If the two teams tie on Tues. Nov. 1, the Monarchs would HAVE to win at New Mexico (Friday, 11/4) to make the 2016 C-USA Men’s Soccer tournament
- If ODU beats both Florida Atlantic AND New Mexico, AND UAB beats FIU, ODU and UAB would be tied in conference action. *** If this scenario plays out UAB would be 6th & ODU 7th based on C-USA Tie-Breaker Criteria***
- If FIU beats UAB AND ODU wins their last two matches, the Monarchs would jump to 6th and UAB would be 7th, based on conference record.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Monarchs wrap up the regular season on Friday, Nov. 4, at New Mexico. The match starts at 9 p.m. EST/7 p.m. MT and is available on the C-USA TV webstream.