Mastodons Come to Kansas City to Kick Off Conference Play
9/21/2012 1:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer
at Kansas City Kangaroos (1-4-2, 0-0 SL)
Saturday, Sept. 22 - 1:00 pm
Kansas City, Mo. * Durwood Soccer Stadium
Live Stats/Webcast: UMKCKangaroos.com (T.J. Jackson, play-by-play)
The Game:
The 'Roos head into Summit League play this weekend as Fort Wayne comes to town for a 1 p.m. kickoff from Durwood Stadium. UMKC comes in after ties in its last two contests, and will be back at home for the first time since September 6. The Mastodons come in after dropping their first eight games.
The Coaches
In his 15th season at UMKC, Rick Benben is the winningest coach in school history, posting a 106-131-29 record. Under his guidance, UMKC has captured four Summit League regular season titles and has made three appearances in the NCAA College Cup with the most recent appearance coming in 2008. Benben, the fourth head coach in the Division I era, was inducted into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame this past year.
Mike Harper is in his seventh season with Fort Wayne, and has a 22-75-11 overall record there. He led the team to its most successful season ever last year, advancing to the conference tournament and winning school record eight games.
The Series
This is the seventh meeting between Kansas City and Fort Wayne, with the 'Roos leading the all-time series 4-1-1. The last meeting was October 26 of last season, with the two squads tying 3-3. That contest that saw UMKC take the lead three different times.
The 'Roos have a 2-0 record at home against the Mastodons, scoring four goals in both meetings. Benben is 4-1-1 against IPFW, while Harper is 1-3-1 against UMKC.
Scouting the Competition
The Fort Wayne Mastodons come in at 0-8 overall, but have played some solid competition, including their last contest against Xavier this week at home (L, 2-0).
The Mastodons are led on offense by Jackson Tooke (1 G, 9 shots) and Kyle Ackerman (11 shots). Mitch Falkenstern leads the squad with two assists. The team has been out-shot by a 154-69 clip, have allowed 2.4 goals per game while scoring just three times this season. In the net, goalkeeper Brandon Cloutier has a 2.39 GAA and 41 saves.
A Win vs IPFW Means...
- Kansas City would move to 3-0 at home against the Mastodons.
- The 'Roos would be 1-0 in conference play for the third consecutive season, and unbeaten to start conference play for the sixth straight year.
- UMKC would have played three consecutive contests without a loss.
Summit League Openers
The 'Roos have usually been prepared when it comes to the start of Summit League play during the Benben era, with a streak of five straight years being unbeaten in them. The 'Roos have a 9-3-1 overall mark in conference openers under Benben, last losing in 2006 to Western Illinois (1-0).
Defensive Turnaround
The 'Roos defense had a rough start to the season, giving up 10 goals in its first three games (3.33 GAA), but in the four contests since then, UMKC has allowed only three (0.75 GAA).
Up Next
The 'Roos host Central Arkansas on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a non-conference contest.
Last year the 'Roos defeated the Bears by a 2-1 score on the road. Kansas City leads the all-time series 5-1, and has a perfect 3-0 mark against them at home.
Durwood W's
Since Durwood Soccer Stadium and Recreational Field opened in 2009, the 'Roos have been excellent there, posting a 16-8 mark (.667).
Last season UMKC went 3-4 at home, but posted an 8-1 mark in 2010, and went 4-2 in 2009. The 'Roos are 1-1 this year.
'Roos Nationally
'Roos junior goalkeeper Kevin Corby is in the national top 50 in both save percentage (.850, 25th) and goals against average (0.81, 46th). He also ranks 62nd in saves per game at 4.25.
As a team, the 'Roos rank 89th in saves per contest at 4.14.
