Men's Soccer | 8/23/2018 12:05:00 PM

FIXTURE #1
Canisius Golden Griffins (0-0-0, 0-0-0 MAAC) @ Robert Morris Colonials (0-0-0, 0-0-0 NEC)
Friday, August 24, 2018 // 4:00 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – North Athletic Complex
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com

Musket Shots
> In 2017, Robert Morris advanced to its second Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament over the last three seasons, finishing with a 3-3-1 league record
> RMU won two of its last three regular-season matches to earn the fourth seed, knocking off LIU Brooklyn on the road, 1-0, before returning home to defeat Sacred Heart in overtime, 1-0
> Zac Sherman is the Colonials' leading returning scorer, tallying seven points (3g, 1a) in 17 matches
> Winter Fondi has started 34 matches between the posts for RMU in his career, which ties him for the sixth-most Starting XI appearances by a goalkeeper in program history
> Kai Olguin, Gustaf Moberg, and Oeyvind Skjesol join Sherman and Fondi as returnees who started 11 or more matches last season
> RMU looks to replace graduated All-NEC selections Bayley Winkel (10g, 2a) and Keane McIvor (2g, 8a), as the duo combined for 34 points in 2017
> Fondi, Olguin, Sherman, Owen Peace, Noah Elamin, and Mason George make up the six-player senior class
> The 2018 roster has 11 new faces in freshmen Jake Plumb, Lorenzo Guagneli, Cristian Palermo, Raffaele Vio, Nate Graziani, Seth Schleicher, Riccardo Rota, Jakob Abounassar, and Keaton Jennings, sophomore Matt Cillo, and junior Guilherme Fanck
> The Colonials were picked to finish sixth in the annual NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Weekly Update

 
History vs. Canisius
Overall: 9-5-3 | Home: 4-2-2 | Away: 4-3-1 | Neutral: 1-0-0 | Streak: L3
Last Meeting: 8/31/2017; Buffalo, N.Y. – Canisius 4, Robert Morris 3 (OT)
First Meeting: 9/11/1991; Buffalo, N.Y. – Robert Morris 2, Canisius 0
> RMU dropped a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker to Canisius last season after holding a 3-0 advantage through 40:44
> Prior to last year's meeting, the two teams played for 11 straight seasons between 2004-14, with the Colonials owning a 6-3-2 edge during that stretch
> The last RMU victory over Canisius came on Sept. 14, 2011, when goals by Carl Reid and Luca Campos were the difference in a 2-0 triumph
 
Scouting Canisius
> The Golden Griffins enjoyed a strong 2017 campaign, finishing with a 12-4-4 overall record and 5-1-4 mark in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) contests
> The MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll listed Canisius as the favorite, with a league-high four players (Melvin Blair, Alex Grattarola, Troy Brady, and Filippo Tamburini) being named to Preseason All-MAAC
> Tamburini, a sophomore forward, earned All-MAAC First Team accolades in 2017 after a 26-point (11g, 4a) campaign
> Brady, a junior forward, joined Tamburini on the First Team after chipping in with 20 points (9g, 2a)
> Seniors Blair (4g, 6a) and Grattarola (7g, 2a) also were named to the First Team, with the latter collecting Defensive Player of the Year honors
> Redshirt senior goalkeeper Bryce Tramuta posted a 1.92 goals against average and .636 save percentage last season in four appearances and two starts
 
Colonial Trends
> Winter Fondi has started the last 33 matches at goalkeeper
> Kai Olguin has gone the distance in his last 32 matches
> The Colonials earned a result in five of their last six home matches (W-L-T-W-T-T)
> RMU has scored two goals in two of its last three home openers (2015, 2017)

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