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Rock to open road trip at Pitt-Johnstown

Rock to open road trip at Pitt-Johnstown

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University men’s soccer team will begin its longest road stint of the season with a 1 p.m. meeting at Windber Stadium versus Pitt-Johnstown.
 
The Rock will look to move above .500 after entering with a 3-3-3 overall record and a 0-1-2 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Mountain Cats are still searching their first win against a Division II opponent, carrying a 3-6-1 record on the year that includes a 0-2-1 start to PSAC West play.
 
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch Wednesday’s game live for free via the links below provided by Pitt-Johnstown Sports Information.
 
GAME 10 of 16
Opponent: Pitt-Johnstown
Date: Wednesday – 1 p.m.
Location: Windber, Pennsylvania  
Venue: Windber Stadium
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Pitt-Johnstown Sports Information
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 38-10-1
Current Streak: W2
Last Played: Oct. 21, 2023 (SRU won, 3-0)
 
TOP ACTIVE SRU CAREER STATS vs. PITT-JOHNSTOWN
Arturo Pla Hernandis – 10 points on 4 goals, 2 assists, 18 shots, 11 SOG (6 GP)
Aitor Jorde – 6 points on 3 goals, 7 shots, 4 SOG (2 GP)
Shaun Spencer – 5 points on 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 shots, 4 SOG (4 GP)
Luke Gildea – 5 points on 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 shots, 2 SOG (4 GP)
Adam Davies – (2-0), 1.03 GAA, 8 saves on 12 SF (3 GP)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday will feature the 50th anniversary of Slippery Rock and Pitt-Johnstown meeting on the soccer field, a series that The Rock own a 38-10-1 all-time lead in.
 
Slippery Rock has lost to Pitt-Johnstown just once in its last 25 matchups since 1996, coming in a 2-1 defeat in 2019. In that timeframe, The Rock are 23-1-1 against Pitt-Johnstown, tying the Mountain Cats 2-2 in 2022.
 
Slippery Rock swept Pitt-Johnstown for the second time in three seasons last year, defeating UPJ in a 3-2 home thriller before cruising to a 3-0 victory on the road in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.
 
The Rock picked up their third straight win and second consecutive shutout at UPJ Oct. 21. Luke Gildea netted the opening goal (17′) prior to Aitor Jorde recording a brace (60′, 64′) to give SRU its second straight 3-0 win of the 2023 season.
 


















             TEAM COMPARISON
The Rock Stats Pitt-Johnstown
3-3-3 Overall Record 3-6-1
0-1-2 Conference Record 0-2-1
1.3 Goals per Game 2.3
1.3 Opp. Goals per Game 2.0
0 Season Goal Differential +3
12.4 Shots per Game 18.0
8.8 Opp. Shots per Game 13.1
5.0 SOG per Game 7.7
4.0 Opp. SOG per Game 6.1
0.9 Assists per Game 1.4
6.8 Corners per Game 5.2
12.1 Fouls per Game 12.6
2.7 Saves per Game 4.1

 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 3-3-3
PSAC West Record: 0-1-2
Home Record: 1-2-2
Away Record: 2-1-1
PSAC West Rank: T-4th of 6
Streak: W1
Last Five: 1-2-2
Head Coach: Kevin Wilhelm | Seventh season at SRU (33-51-15)
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
 
LAST TIME OUT
Despite going down a man after a 72nd-minute red card, Slippery Rock’s Aaron Finney scored an 84th-minute winner to lift The Rock to a 2-1 victory over Shepherd University Oct. 12 at James Egli Field.
 
Pla Hernandis (11′) scored early on a goal from Jorde and Jack Smith to put The Rock up 1-0, a lead that would last until the 72nd minute. Shepherd equalized at 1-1 by converting a midfield free kick that came immediately from SRU’s red card.
 
Ryan Hanes hit Finney on a corner kick with 6:35 remaining to retake a one-goal lead. The Rock were then able to defend a late surge from Shepherd to earn their first home win of the season.
 
Shots were even at 9-9 with the Rams coming out of the game with edges in shots on goal (4-2) and corner kicks (6-4). Adam Davies made three saves in goal for The Rock.
 
LEADING THE ROCK
Finney became Slippery Rock’s leading goalscorer against Shepherd, now with six points on three goals. Gildea and Pla Hernandis have both scored twice for four points, while Jorde has earned three points on one goal and one assist.
 
Rasmus Fugl and Colton Spence each have one goal to their name for two points on the year, tying Smith’s two points on two assists for sixth on the team.
 
Hanes, Aashi Pandher and Ignacio Rullan all have one assist, rounding out the 12 different players with points on the team.
 
Jorde is SRU’s leading shot-taker with 20, ranking second behind Colton Swanson (10) with seven shots on goal. Both Fugl and Pla Hernandis have attempted 17 shots on the year with half a dozen of those landing on target each. Following Swanson’s 15 total shots, Gildea ranks fifth on the team with nine shot attempts, four of which have gone to goal.
 
Fugl, Jorde and Pla Hernandis have now combined or 54 of Slippery Rock’s 112 shots, accounting for 48.2 percent of The Rock’s scoring chances.
 
ANOTHER PSAC WEEKLY HONOR
After burying the first game-winning goal of his career, Finney became the third SRU men’s soccer player to be named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week this year, the conference office announced Oct. 14.
 
Finney joined Spence and Adam Davies on that list, each of which all picked up their first PSAC weekly awards of their respective careers. This also marks the first time since 2019 that The Rock won at least three PSAC weekly awards as a team.
 
Finney’s award also marks the first occurrence in 15 years that the Slippery Rock men’s soccer team earned PSAC weekly awards in back-to-back weeks. Jeremy Deighton and Kenneth Fultz were named to the honor Oct. 19-26, 2009.
 
STILL EARNING LOTS OF CORNERS
With 6.8 corner kicks per game, Slippery Rock ranks second in the PSAC and eighth nationally in Division II. The Rock are fourth in Super-Region 1 in corners as well:
 
Corner kicks per game in Super-Region 1:
1. Franklin Pierce (8.5)
2. Charleston (8.0)
3. Gannon (7.0)
4. The Rock (6.8)
 
LENDING A HAND
Slippery Rock recorded a season-high three assists against Shepherd with helpers coming off the feet of Hanes, Jorde and Smith.
 
Jorde and Smith put together a bang-bang play through traffic before finding Pla Hernandis, while Hanes got his assist on a rebounded corner kick.
 
SRU last registered three assists in the same game when it defeated Pitt-Johnstown on the road last year, seeing four assists credited to the team in the 3-0 win over the Mountain Cats.
 
Slippery Rock also utilized four assists in its 3-1 home win against Seton Hill University last season. The Rock nabbed three assists in their 5-2 win against Daemen University as well as in a 3-2 home victory versus UPJ last year.
 
RELENTLESS DEFENSE
Slippery Rock’s defensive third, which was comprised of Smith, Spence, Will Harrigan, Gabin Lonjard and Jeroen Van Der Veen against Shepherd, has now limited each of its last four opponents to fewer than 10 shots.
 
The Rock have held their last four opponents to an average of 7.3 shots, 2.5 shots on goal and 4.0 corner kicks per game.
 
GETTING IT DONE IN NET
Davies has made a combined five saves in the last two games, facing 17 shots in that span. The senior goalkeeper has now made two dozen total saves on the season, heading into SRU’s three-game road trip with a 1.33 GAA and a save percentage of .667.
 
THE FRESHMEN MAKING THEIR MARK
True freshman Jimmy Irani recorded his first career shot against Shepherd, playing 22 minutes for The Rock. The midfielder from Grove City, Pennsylvania has now appeared in eight of this year’s nine games, becoming a consistent aid to The Rock in his freshman campaign.
 
Mount Albert, Ontario native and fellow freshman Kaden Reynolds also put in a 15-minute shift for Slippery Rock against Shepherd, seeing his debut with The Rock go down as a win.
 
AITOR MOVING UP IN THE CONFERENCE RANKS
Jorde has improved to eighth in the PSAC with 2.2 shots per game after recording three shots for the second straight game this year. Jorde has averaged 2.8 shots per game in his last four outings including a season-high four shots against No. 15 Gannon University.
 
The junior from Bilbao, Spain has now recorded a shot in every game this season, leading the team with 20 total attempts.

HITTING THE ROAD

Slippery Rock is playing three straight away games for the first time since 2021 when The Rock traveled to Mercyhurst University, Seton Hill and California (Pa.) Oct. 20-27. The Rock also played four straight road games in the 2019 season, coming away from matches against Lock Haven, Salem Univeristy, Cal and Gannon with a 2-2 mark.

SRU is also looking to stay hot on the road with its 2-1-1 in away games this year. The Rock have not lost an away game in over a month, falling to Walsh University 1-0 Sept. 11.

 

While The Rock have put together several home records of note in the past handful of years, Slippery Rock is looking to buck a trend of finishing with an away record below .500.

The Rock are currently on track for their best away record since a 5-4 showing in their 2015 PSAC Championship-winning season.

 

RECORD WATCH

Now in his senior year, Pla Hernandis continues to rise through the ranks in several different school records. Most recently, the true nine moved into the top five all-time with 142 total shots, passing Jack Jarvie’s 141 (1955-58). Moving up another spot will require more than 30 additional shots, as Ray Aubel holds fourth place with 172 (1958-63).

 

Pla Hernandis’ 11th-minute goal against Shepherd moved him into a three-way tie for 15th all-time with Ed Mocarsky (2004-07) and John Sklarski (1965-68) with 23 goals. Two more goals would match Matt Thompson’s career total of 25, which ranks 14th in SRU history.

 

Jorde joined Pla Hernandis in the top 20 in shots on goal this year, now tied with Mike Ilodigwe (2014-15) for 16th with 30 shots on target.

 

Davies is now one of just 13 goalies in SRU history to have played 30 games in net as well as one of 12 goaltenders to have started in 28 matches. On the field, Pla Hernandis entered the top 20 all-time in games started with 56 appearances in the starting XI.

 

THE MOUNTAIN CATS BY THE NUMBERS

Overall Record: 3-6-1

PSAC West Record: 0-2-1

Home Record: 2-4

Away Record: 1-2-1

PSAC West Rank: 6th of 6

Streak: D1

Last Five: 1-3-1

Head Coach: Eric Kinsey | 24th season at UPJ (94-295-21, .255)

Roster: Link

Stats: Link

 

PITT-JOHNSTOWN SCOUTING REPORT

The Mountain Cats have played a diverse schedule but have not yet defeated a Division II opponent this year.

 

UPJ’s 3-6-1 record includes 3-0 and 8-0 wins over Penn State-New Kensington and Penn State-Greater Allegheny, respectively, as well as a 5-1 road win at USCAA Central Penn College. Prior to Pitt-Johnstown’s most recent 3-1 home loss to Seton Hill, the Mountain Cats were upset by NAIA Washington Adventist University in a 3-2 defeat.

 

Despite their 3-6 start to the year, Pitt-Johnstown is coming off a PSAC West draw at California, 1-1. Thanks in part to UPJ’s mixed array of opponents, the Mountain Cats rank third in Division II with 18.0 shots per game.

 

Redshirt sophomore Jack Moyer leads the team with 11 points on five goals and one assist, ranking eighth in the PSAC with 1.1 points per game. Moyer is one of eight UPJ players to have taken at least 12 shots this year, all chasing Alexzander Toto’s team-high 23 attempts.

 

The Rock saw two different UPJ goalies last year, both of which are back this season. PJ Derksen (2-6-1), who suffered a 3-0 loss to SRU last year, has started all but one game this year for Pitt-Johnstown. The senior from Litchfield, Ohio has a 2.22 GAA and a .649 save percentage, having made 37 stops on 115 shots faced this year.

 

LOOKING AHEAD

Slippery Rock will conclude its first leg of PSAC West round-robin play with a 1 p.m. fixture at Seton Hill Saturday.

To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official Athletic Communication accounts on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).