Men's Soccer | 10/13/2016 9:00:00 AM
Halfway through the conference schedule, the Clarkson University Men's Soccer team is in the thick of the playoff hunt. The Golden Knights will try to move up the standings when they hit the road to take on Rensselaer and Union.
Clarkson is 5-4-2 overall this season and 1-2-1 in the Liberty League. The Golden Knights are tied for sixth in the conference, just three points behind the second, third, and fourth place teams. Clarkson's last game was a 2-1 overtime loss at Hobart. Aiden Subra scored for the second straight game to give Clarkson a 1-0 lead, but the Statesmen answered with a second half goal to tie the game. Hobart was able to take the win when the Statesmen scored just 46 seconds into overtime. It was the second overtime loss of the season for Clarkson who are now 0-2-2 in extra time periods.
Clarkson continues to be one of the best defensive teams in the country, ranking 25th with a .60 goals against average and 24th in shutout percentage. Michael King also ranks highly in a variety of categories, including save percentage (0.879) where he ranks eighth in the country, and goals against average (0.604) where he ranks 26th in the nation.
Coming off an NCAA tournament appearance in 2015, RPI has struggled this season with a 3-6-3 overall record and a 1-2-1 conference mark. The Engineers' only conference win was a 2-0 win over Hobart and are coming off a 3-2 loss at Vassar. Devon Baughen leads the team with seven goals and one assist for 15 points. He is tied for the conference lead in goals and tied for third in points. Clarkson has an all-time record of 21-27-4 against the Engineers, however, Clarkson has not won since 2005.
Union is near the top of the Liberty League standings with an 8-2-1 overall record and a 2-0-1 mark against conference opponents. The Dutchmen have defeated Bard and RIT, both by the score of 2-0, as well as a double overtime 1-1 draw with Rensselaer. Andrew Fontaine leads the way offensively, as he has 17 points on five goals and seven assists. His 17 points and seven assists lead the conference while he is tied for third in goals, as is his teammate Salvador Lopez Jr while Ethan Strauss has four goals to his name. Clarkson narrowly leads the all-time series 16-15-2. Last year the two teams had a scoreless draw while Clarkson earned a 1-0 victory in 2014.
Clarkson will take on Rensselaer at 4:00 pm on Friday before heading to Union for a 2:00 pm game.
