Men Face Critical Week on GLVC Road

Truman Men's Soccer Weekly Notes (Matches 11-12)
Full Notes (PDF)

Match 11 (Live Stats):
Truman (6-3-1, 4-3-1 GLVC) at Missouri S&T (5-4-1, 4-3-1 GLVC)
Date: Friday, October 11 (7:30 PM)
Location: Rolla, Missouri
Series Record: Truman leads, 22-9-5.
Last Meeting: Missouri S&T won, 3-2, on Sept. 2, 2012 in Quincy, Ill.

Match 12 (Live Stats):
Truman at #25 Drury (9-2, 6-2 GLVC)
Date: Sunday, October 13 (2:30 PM)
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Series Record: Truman leads, 6-5-2.
Last Meeting: Drury won, 2-0, on Sept. 17, 2010 in Kirksville.

Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || #TSUGameDay || @TrumanMSoccer

Opening Kickoff:
A pair of key GLVC road matches are on tap for the Truman men's soccer team this weekend, as the Bulldogs continue their quest towards a GLVC tournament berth with games at Missouri S&T and Drury.

Truman (6-3-1, 4-3-1 GLVC) will take on two other top-half programs in the GLVC standings this weekend during the University's midterm break, beginning under the Friday night lights in Rolla at Missouri S&T at 7:30 pm. From there, Truman tackles nationally-ranked Drury in Springfield on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 pm.

Last weekend, the Bulldogs split a pair of home matches against two squads along Missouri's western border – beginning with a 2-1 loss to then-No. 16 Rockhurst on Friday before rebounding with a 3-1 victory against William Jewell on Sunday. Nick Franta and Dylan Carter each recorded two goals during the weekend to split the four tallies.

Meanwhile, after surrendering a pair of goals in the first 52-plus minutes of Friday's match against the Hawks, the defense clamped down for the final 127 minutes of the weekend – giving up just one goal.

Duke Cochran has an 87-54-13 (.607) record at the helm and is in his ninth season with the program.

Following the Bulldogs:
Full coverage of Truman men's soccer is available online at TrumanBulldogs.com, including results, upcoming match information and weekly updates.

When available, links to free online live stats are added to the Bulldog men's soccer schedule page as well as the top of each weekly update.

Keep up with the Bulldogs by tracking in-match updates (when available). Follow Truman Athletics on Twitter (@TrumanAthletics). Also be sure to sign up for Text Caster and Newsletter updates on the TrumanBulldogs.com homepage.

Opponent Quick Glance:
After opening the season with four wins in six matches, the S&T Miners have scuffled to a 1-2-1 mark in their last four outings – most recently winning in overtime at Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday, Oct. 6 after falling 1-0 to Maryville on Friday, Oct. 4. The Miners have stepped out of conference play twice this season, defeating Southwest Baptist 6-0 in the season-opener before being shutout by Lindenwood, 3-0.

S&T has scored 16 goals in 10 games while giving up just 13 and has been out-shot by a 164-137 margin. Alex Reifschneider is the team leader with four tallies, while Brian Seawright has added three goals and an assist. Matt Jackson has made eight starts (of 10 possible) in goal, recording a 1.06 goals-against average and posting an 85.9 save percentage.

Drury climbed as high as No. 4 in the NSCAA top-25 coaches' poll, reaching a record of 8-1 before going 1-1 on a road trip through St. Louis last weekend. The Panthers lost 2-1 at UMSL before picking up a 1-0 win at Maryville on Sunday to get back on track.

The Panthers have out-scored their opposition by a 24-5 mark, despite being out-shot 115-110 on the year. Two men lead the team in points, as Nick Ammann (5G, 2A) and Scott Siffler (4G, 4A) have a dozen points, while Brett Steere is one behind with 11 (5G, 1A). Blake Andrews has played all but 45 minutes in goal for DU this season, recording a 0.47 GAA and posting an 85.3 save percentage.

'Dogs In Control:
Of the nearly 936 minutes of action through the team's 10 matches this year, the Bulldogs have either led or been tied a resounding 88.5% of the time. Truman has spent just 107 minutes and change trailing this year, with the majority of that coming during the two matches against UW-Parkside and Rockhurst.

Bulldog Influence on Panther Program:
Long-time fans of Truman soccer will recognize the names of both Drury head coaches this weekend, as Alf Bilbao is in his eighth season as the women's head coach, while Ryan Swan is the fifth-year head coach of the men's program.

Head women's coach Mike Cannon and head men's coach Duke Cochran join Bilbao and Swan as alums of the Bulldog men's program, as the first three all played together during various seasons in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

After Cannon took over the head coaching reigns of the women's program in 1993, Bilbao eventually returned and took the controls of the men's program in 1998 – beginning a seven-year run in which he posted a 96-28-10 (.754) record. During that spell, he coached DU's Swan for two seasons.

Nick-Squared:
A pair of Bulldog midfielders – Nick Tolmais and Nick Franta – are serving as the engine behind the Truman offense this season, as the tandem has combined for 11 goals and three assists for 25 total points. They have combined to score the first goal of a game five times this season and have scored on 11 of their 21 total shots on goal.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs return to Kirksville for two matches during Homecoming weekend. Truman kicks off the weekend on Friday, Oct. 18 at 2:30 pm against Bellarmine (6-2-2, 4-2-2 GLVC), before capping the weekend on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2:30 pm against McKendree (2-7-1, 0-7-1 GLVC).

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