BUENA VISTA, Va. – The Southern Virginia University men's soccer team will take on Methodist in a league matchup Saturday with kickoff set for 5 p.m. The game will close out homecoming weekend that features home contests for rugby, football and women's soccer.
The teams will be squaring off for the seventh time, with the Monarchs holding onto the series lead. The Knights have performed well in the last two matchups, coming away victorious in the first game as conference foes on the road last year and drawing 2-2 in double overtime in the 2020 season.
Southern Virginia will hope to build off the momentum gained in Wednesday night's thriller versus Eastern Mennonite. The team's last-minute goal resulted in a tie that saw them come back from a one goal deficit twice in the game.
"It's definitely been huge for us coming back from down a goal a few times," said sophomore
Calum Yule. "Needless to say, it's been a tough season, but the fact that the boys came together, put in the work and earned some points exhibits the ambition, integrity and optimism of the team. More than anything it's shown our character."
That toughness and resilience will be put to the test against a strong Methodist side who got off to a hot start in league play winning their first two games and tying the next. The Monarchs (6-2-4) are coming off a loss to the Pacers of William Peace, their first dropped game since September 6. The teams seven points in the conference puts them in third place.
The Monarchs are led by the one-two punch of junior forwards Hudson Zeisman (four goals, five assists) and Kether Fouana-Seth (five goals, one assist) who are fourth and seventh in points in the USA South respectively.
Similar to the Southern Virginia, Methodist uses multiple goalkeepers with junior Cole Hupp and freshman Matthew Walker splitting time between the sticks. Both have been impressive, sitting at third and fourth in save percentage with Walker at .800 and Hupp at .767.
The two Monarch keepers sit just behind
Dallin Chappell, sophomore goalkeeper for the Knights. The Sedalia, Missouri native is boasting a .821 save percentage and 32 saves in just five games. Freshman
Sean Gutzman continues to impress with 41 saves on the year, good for fourth place among league goalkeepers.
Southern Virginia will welcome back forward
Ammon Lewis who is returning from injury. The sophomore has lead the team in goals the past two seasons and the Knights have missed his production and leadership on the pitch throughout the 2022 campaign.
"It will boost everyone's confidence having Ammon back," exclaimed head coach
Payden Pemberton. "He is a great player and one of our captains and many of our freshman look up to him. We are excited to have him back!"
Keep up with the game by visiting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wKq1Qc5_Kg for the live stream and
https://knightathletics.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary for the live stats.
For all the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University men's soccer, please visit knightathletics.com and follow @knightmsoccer on Instagram.
