LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Men's Soccer opens the Southern Conference schedule on Saturday in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at 6 p.m.
The Keydets (2-6-3) continue their road swing against the Terriers (4-5-1) in the first league match of the season.
Keys to the Keydets
VMI Stumbles in Second Half. Despite taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, VMI watched St. Thomas' offense spark, leading to a 3-1 road loss.
Goal Scorer. Colin Blandford earned his first career goal off a free kick against the Tommies.
SoCon Offensive Player of the Week. Midfielder
Jesse Lee was named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal against Radford last week. This is Lee's first weekly honor and the first for the Keydets this season.
In Murphy, We Trust. Zack Murphy recorded his first solo clean sheet of the season after earning five saves against Radford. Murphy has played a part in two shutouts, the first being a combined shutout against Warren Wilson.
No Days Off. Five Keydets have played in all 11 matches this season:
Thimson Duolo,
Jack Yough,
Colin Blandford,
Timofey Dovgalyuk, and
Jordan Savage. Blandford and Dovgalyuk have started in all matches.
Winner, Winner. Head Coach
Nick Regan recorded his 14th win at the helm, moving into sole possession of third all-time.
In the Corner. VMI ranks first in the conference and 54th nationally with 51 corner kicks.
Racking Minutes. Zack Murphy has played 855 goalie minutes this year, bringing his career total to 3,912, which ranks third all-time at VMI.
Household Name. Making his mark in his first collegiate season is
Thimson Duolo, who leads the Keydets with three goals, while boasting two assists. Duolo ranks fourth in the SoCon with 22 shots, third with 11 shots on goal, and seventh with three goals. He also ranks 58th among D-I players with a 50% shot accuracy.
Young Stat Leaders. All three goal leaders are freshmen:
Rowen Choi,
Jack Yough, and
Thimson Duolo. Joining the young squad with the second-most assists on the team is
Sam Dowdy. Another notable producer is
Jack Yough, who has played nearly 900 minutes on the back line, the most for VMI this season.
Life Saver. Zack Murphy ranks 20th among DI goalies with 40 saves, the best in the league, and 42nd with four saves per game, the second-most in the conference.
Scouting the Terriers
- Wofford enters the matchup 4-5-1 overall.
- The Terriers have the third-most victories in the league, and are the only program to not have multiple draws this season.
- Wofford was predicted to finish fifth in the league, with one Preseason All-SoCon honoree.
- The Terriers picked up their first home win on Tuesday over Queens to move to 1-3 at Snyder Field.
- Wofford ranks 13th nationally with a 51% shot accuracy.
- The Terriers have allowed two goals per game, the most in the league.
- Pepe Hinterschuster is sixth in the country with 900 goalie minutes played and 43rd with 34 saves.
- Nathan Simes has produced six goals this season, the second-most in the conference and 16th nationally, with a pair of game-winning goals, leading the league and top 25 in the nation. Simes' 14 points are third in the SoCon and 25th in the country.
- Kalle Rahbek has dished out a team-high four assists, which is second in the SoCon.
- Head Coach Ryan Osborne is in his first season with the Terriers.
Series History
- VMI is 4-24-1 all-time against Wofford.
- First meeting was in 1996, ending in a 2-0 victory for the Keydets.
- Last season, Wofford narrowly defeated VMI, 2-1, in the regular season finale, before topping the Keydets the next week in the conference tournament, 3-0.
- VMI is looking for its first win over Wofford since 2004, and its first result in Spartanburg since 2001.
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.
