SLIAC Game of the Week: Fontbonne at Blackburn
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At a Glance This week's SLIAC Game of the Week is on Saturday when the Fontbonne University and Blackburn College men's soccer teams take the pitch in a pivotal game for the conference standings. The two teams will play in Carlinville, Illinois with game time set for 3 p.m. |
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About the Blackburn College "BEAVERS" Blackburn is 5-5-3 overall and 2-1-1 in the SLIAC this season. They are coming off a tough 1-0 loss to Spalding last Saturday but are still 3-1-1 in their last five games. The Beavers will have a full week off before hosting Fontbonne on Saturday. The Beavers are averaging 15.2 shot per game and rank fifth in conference play in goals scored with seven. Freshman Lane DePratt leads the team with 11 points and is tied with junior Reed Gwilliam for the team lead with four goals. Gwilliam also has a team best three game winning goals this season. The Beavers are young in net, with three freshmen seeing time in goal. Lately it has been Kendl Gulick getting the majority of the time, starting three of the last four games. Guilick holds a 2.11 goals-against average this season and has made 38 saves in his four starts. |
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About the Fontbonne University "GRIFFINS" Fontbonne starts the week with a 3-9-1 overall record but sit at 3-1 in conference play and have won three of their last four games. They are on the road at Eureka on Tuesday afternoon as they put their two game winning streak on the line. The Griffins begin the week atop the goals list during conference play with 16 and are averaging 12.3 shots per game this season. A total of 12 different players have scored a goal for the Griffins this season with Ryan Dudley leading the way with three goals. Alex Smith, Austin Willenbrock, and Nick Wolf are tied for second on the team in scoring with six points with each having recorded two goals and two assists. Greg Ferry and and Alex Phillips also join the list of players with multiple goals this season. In net it is all Tony Pitaro. Pitaro holds a 2.33 goals-against average with 49 saves in over 1,000 minutes played and recorded his first shutout last week. |
Game Notes
- Fontbonne leads the all-time series against Blackburn 25-5-2 including winning the last 13 meetings.
- A win would move Blackburn into the fourth and final spot for the SLIAC Tournament. The Beavers have not made the SLIAC Tournament since 1998.
- Fontbonne is currently tied for second place in the SLIAC, with Westmister and Webster, and are looking to make their conference high 21st tournament appearance.
- With two conference wins this season the Beavers have already matched their output from each of the last four years. The Beavers have not had more than two conference wins in a season since 2011 when they won four SLIAC games.
- After scoring just three goals in their first nine games (an 0-8-1 record), the Griffins have exploded in the month of October with 16 goals and a 3-1 mark.
