Sept. 1, 2009

GAMETRACKER | LIVE BLOG

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist men's soccer team will begin its 2009 campaign at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field on Tuesday at 7 p.m., as the team plays host to the Delaware Blue Hens. Marist returns 19 of 25 players to from last season, icluding 10 starters.

Scouting Delaware: The Blue Hens will play their first regular season game on Tuesday night at Tenney Stadium. The team finished the 2008 season with a record of 3-13-3. In the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll, Delaware was picked to finish 12th out of 12 teams.

Returning The Core: Marist retained 19 players and 10 starters from last season's team. The team also brings back 87.5 percent of its scoring offense from the 2008 season.

First-Timers: The Marist men's soccer team welcomes seven newcomers for the 2009 season. They will play in their first game at Tenney Stadium tonight. They are Joe Pilla, Josh Lavorato, Joey Dalleo, Zachary Colbert, Nicholas Pourakis, and Pablo Cameselle.

Two's Wild: Last season, these two teams met on Sept. 1, and the Red Foxes and Blue Hens played to a 2-2 draw. Lucas Szabo scored both goals for the Red Foxes in the 11th and 66th minutes, respectively. It was one of two draws for Marist in 2008.

Standout Sophomores: Lucas Szabo and Krystian Witkowski combined for 22 points last season. Szabo tallied six goals and one assist, while Witkowski totaled four goals and one assist. Both were named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team in 2008.