Saint John's plays host to Wartburg (Iowa) this Saturday, Sept. 4. The match is scheduled for noon at George Durenberger Field in Collegeville. The Johnnies then host Cornell (Iowa) for a 1 p.m. match on Sunday, Sept. 5.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Head coach John Haws and the Johnnies opened their 2010 soccer season with a scoreless 0-0 tie against Minnesota-Morris on Sept. 1. The match was the first for Haws as head coach. Senior goalkeeper Matt Anderson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tallied eight saves to record his first collegiate shutout. Freshman midfielder Michael Coborn (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) and senior forward #A.J. Sollom# (Roberts, Wis./River Falls) led SJU with five and three shots, respectively. Coborn and Sollom posted one shot on-goal each.
A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: The Knights of Wartburg open their season Friday, Sept. 3, at Hamline. The Knights have an experienced group this year, including senior forward Jon Farrell, senior midfielder Scott Willits and junior midfielder Nate Gottsacker. Leading the defensive group is senior Kyle McKenna, who earned first-team All-IIAC honors during his junior season. Joining him are returning senior starters Corey Troast and Todd Meyer. SJU is 1-2 against Wartburg in the last three meetings, all decided by one goal.
THE LAST MEETING: Saint John's fell to then-No. 14 Wartburg (Iowa), 3-2 on Sept. 11 of last year. The Knights' Brandon Cook scored the first of his two goals on the night just 12:45 into the match. Clash Lo (St. Paul, Minn./Tartan), who missed the season opener because of a leg injury, scored his first career goal at the 51:05 mark to tie the game at 1-1. Colin Hall (Maple Grove, Minn.) assisted on the scoring play. Wartburg regained the lead 15 minutes later on a goal from Luke Prater. The Johnnies responded, however, to again tie the game on a goal by #A.J. Sollom# (Roberts, Wis./River Falls) at the 77:15 mark with an assist going to Austin Neuburger (Millstone, N.J./Allentown). Cook, however, tallied the game winner with 2:50 remaining in regulation to give Wartburg the win. Luke Nelson allowed one goal and made four saves in the first half, while Anderson made three saves in the match's final 45 minutes.
A LOOK AT THE RAMS: With new head coach, Andres Leza, the young, but talented Cornell Rams soccer team consists of only three upperclassmen with collegiate experience. Senior forward Kobina Essandoh is a returning starter along with senior midfielder Tyler Gough and junior forward Julian Peota. Three sophomores return, including forward Alex Beehler, defender Eric Doernhoefer, and goalkeeper Ben Alleva. The team opened its season Sept. 1 with a 2-2 tie against Grinnell (Iowa).
THE LAST MEETING: The last time these two teams met was Sept. 10, 1994. The Johnnies won the match 13-0 in Collegeville.
