Emory Men’s Soccer to Face Methodist & Averett in Fayetteville

The Emory University men's soccer team will hit the road for the second-straight week, wrapping up a four-game road trip with contests against Methodist University and Averett University in Fayetteville, NC this weekend.

The Eagles will be hosted by Methodist at 2:00 PM on Saturday, while playing a neutral game against Averett at 2:00 PM on Sunday.  Both games will be played at the soccer fields on the Methodist University campus.

Coverage
Live-updating statistics for both games are available at http://www.mumonarchs.com/custompages/xlive/xlive.htm

Emory University Eagles
Emory will head into action this weekend looking to keep their perfect record of 5-0-0 in 2010 intact.  The Eagles are 2-0-0 in road and neutral matches so far this season.  Emory currently ranks 16^th among all Division III schools with a 0.964 save percentage, 18^th with a 0.8 shutout percentage, 21^st with a 0.2 team goals against average, and 57^th with 2.6 goals per game.  The Eagles were ranked fifth in the South Atlantic Region in the latest NSCAA poll, and 25^th in the latest D3Soccer.com national poll.  Emory is led by head coach Sonny Travis, who will be in search of his 50^th win with the Eagles, compiling a total record of 49-9-3 during his four seasons with the team.

Methodist University Monarchs
Methodist University will enter Saturday's contest with a record of 3-3-0 on the season, including a 1-0-0 record at home this season.  The Monarchs finished their 2009 campaign with a 10-10-0 record, including a 5-5-0 mark when playing on their home field.  Most recently, the Monarchs defeated Chowan University 2-0, as freshman Clayton Newton scored a pair of goals to give him a team-best four during the campaign.  Methodist is led by head coach Justin Terranova, who has posted a 90-66-9 record during his nine years with the team.

Averett University Cougars
Averett University will enter play on Sunday with an overall record of 5-2-0, including a mark of 3-1-0 in neutral matches.  In their last outing, the Cougars earned a 1-0 defeat over Bridgewater College.  Averett has been the top-scoring team in the nation this season, notching a Division III best 27 goals over their seven games, and rank sixth in the nation with 4.5 goals per game.  The Cougars are led by head coach Ed Goodhines, who is 16-22-1 during his three years with the squad.

Matchup Histories
Emory is 8-2-0 all time against Methodist, including a 1-0 in Fayetteville last season off a Jake Graetz penalty kick, and a three-save shutout for goalkeeper Trenton Spindler and the Emory defense.  When the two teams met at the Woodruff P.E. Center in 2008, Emory earned an 8-0 victory behind a pair of goals from Zach Samuels, the current-junior's first career points.

This will be just the second meeting all time between the Eagles and the Cougars, and the first since October 31^st, 1980.  Emory suffered a 4-2 defeat to Averett in the only previous contest between the two squads.

Emory Notes
Should Emory head coach Sonny Travis win either of the two games this weekend, he would reach the 50-win plateau faster than any other coach in the program's history… Travis currently has 49 wins in 61 games, while Emory's previous coach, Mike Rubesch, needed 69 contests to win 50, and Tom Johnson needed 74…  Samuels is currently second among all NCAA Division III players with five assists, and fourth with a one assist per game average… Samuels is also 56^th in Division III with nine points this season… Spindler is ranked 23^rd in Division III with a .958 save percentage and 27^th with a 0.213 goals-against average… This is the ninth 5-0-0 start for the Emory men's soccer program, and the team has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in seven of the previous nine seasons it has won each of its first five matches.