CU Men's Soccer Preview - at Plattsburgh State 9/17

Freshman Kevin Calnan is tied for second in scoring for Clarkson in 2014

Though the offense is clicking at its best scoring rate through seven games since 2009, it may be the Clarkson University Men's Soccer team's defense that has allowed the team to earn four victories in the first seven contests, the fifth time that has occurred in the 21st Century. The Golden Knights will need both ends of the spectrum to shine on Wednesday if they hope to earn a win from Plattsburgh State for the first time since 1998.

The Golden Knights (4-2-1) have been particularly stingy on defense in the early going, allowing only five goals on 118 shots, including 47 on the frame. The most impressive effort for the defense came against the University of Rochester 10 days ago when the Knights deflected or denied 24 shots from the Yellowjackets to earn a 0-0 tie for the fourth time in seven years.

Though plenty of players have helped minimize the opponents' opportunities, sophomore Michael King (Verona, NJ) has put together one of the stronger resumes among Clarkson goalkeepers in recent memory. Through seven games, King leads the Liberty League in total saves (41) and saves per game (5.86 spg) while recording three shutouts with a 0.69 goals against average and an .891 save percentage, all of which place him among the conference leaders as well.

Not to be outdone, the Clarkson offense has been diverse this year, with seven different players scoring at least one goal and an additional two providing one point. Sophomore Tucker Wilcox (Broadalbin, NY) leads the team with three goals, including two last week that earned him a spot on the Liberty League Weekly Honor Roll, and freshman Kevin Calnan (Winchester, MA) has five points on two goals and an assist. Senior exchange student Max Leetz (Bruedx, Germany) has also chipped in five points with a goal and two assists, and he and Wilcox rank among the top 10 in various categories in the Liberty League.

Plattsburgh State, a regional power that has earned an NCAA appearance and 36 wins in the last two and a half seasons, is a near mirror of Clarkson in regards to performance so far in the 2014 season, as the Cardinals have a similar record at 4-2 and close to the same goals for-goals against ratio (11-4). However, sophomore forward Alexis Archilla has done the lion's share of the scoring for the Cardinals with 13 points through six games on six goals and an assist. Not that Plattsburgh is devoid of further offensive firepower; nine other players have produced at least one point for the Cardinals. Mitchell Jordon has seen the majority of time in net for Plattsburgh and he has allowed only three goals in over 500 minutes of play, posting a 0.52 goals against average and an .824 save percentage.

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