FAIRFIELD, Conn. – After earning its first Division I postseason win in program history, #4 Sacred Heart men's soccer will travel to #1 FDU for the NEC semifinals on Thursday with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES
RECORDS
#4 Sacred Heart: 7-8-1, 4-3-1 NEC
#1 FDU: 8-5-3, 6-0-2 NEC
THE MATCHUP
- FDU beat SHU 2-0 in the regular season.
- The Pioneers outshot the Knights 17-11 overall.
- The last time Sacred Heart won against FDU was in 2016. The Pioneers notched a 2-0 shutout over the Knights in Hackensack.
- FDU is the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Knights are undefeated in conference play this season at 6-0-2.
PIOS IN POSTSEASON
- The Pioneers captured their first Division I postseason victory in program history in the 1-0 victory over Saint Francis in the NEC Tournament First Round on Sunday.
- Since joining the NEC in 1999, SHU has made the conference postseason 14 times.
- Sacred Heart's highest regular-season finish was when it was tied at #1 in 2011. The Pioneers shared the regular season title with Central Connecticut State and Monmouth that year.
INTERIM TAG REMOVED
- On Nov. 9, Anthony Anzevui was named the seventh head coach of SHU men's soccer.
- Anzevui was recently the interim head coach for the Pioneers. He was promoted to the position in January 2022 after longtime head coach Joe Barroso retired.
- Anzevui was hired as an assistant on the men's soccer staff in 2014.
- The Newcastle, England native is no stranger to the program as he played for the Pioneers from 2005 to 2009. As a player, Anzevui helped guide SHU to its first-ever postseason appearance in 2005 followed by another in 2007.
- Anzevui's first postseason trip as an assistant coach came in 2016, where they fell at St. Francis Brooklyn, 1-0.
ALL-CONFERENCE
TOP PIOS
- Graduate student Lucas Miquel Castrillo leads Sacred Heart with nine points on the season. The midfielder notched the game-winner in the Pioneers' victories 1-0 victory over Saint Francis in the NEC First Round. Castrillo also leads SHU with three assists.
- Junior Olliver Persson was named NEC co-Player of the Week on Oct. 24 after posting a goal and assist against Howard.
- David Garcia Gallego, Rob Taylor IV and Javier Lopez Cayuela are tied for third on the team with three points. Gallego and Taylor tallied two goals apiece this season. Cayuela notched the Pioneers' first goal of the season while picking up two career assists.
- First years Koke Gracia Martinez (Sept. 12) and Zach Lorenz (Oct. 24) earned Rookie of the Week honors this year after scoring their first career goals.
- Senior Justin Siegel eclipsed 53 saves and seven shutouts this season. His seven shutouts are a third-best in Pioneer history in a single season.Siegel is also fourth in the program in career shutouts (9) and ranks 12th in career saves (124). On Oct. 13, he became the 15th player in Pioneer history to get 100 saves in the 0-0 draw against St. Francis Brooklyn.
TEAM NOTABLES
- The Pioneers have won four of its last six games to end the regular season. The second game was a draw against St. Francis Brooklyn, 0-0. SHU's last loss was at Merrimack, 3-0.
- As a team, the Pioneers are second in the conference averaging 5.0 corner kicks per game. They also rank third in shots per game (13.19) and fourth in overall shots (211) and shots on goal per game (5.31).
- Sacred Heart earned its first non-conference victory since 2019 with a 2-0 edge against Holy Cross. The following game, the Pioneers picked up a 2-0 road win at Hartford.
