GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles have gone through a gauntlet of a schedule the last few weeks and they look to rebound from an 0-5-1 stretch with conference games at rival Aquinas and Concordia. The week begins at Aquinas on Wednesday, September 29 at 7 p.m. and concludes on Friday, October 1 at 1 p.m. at Concordia. Last time out, CU hung around with a tough Madonna squad at home, but fell 2-1 in regulation. To watch this week's contests, visit the link HERE to find live video and stats. 
 
Return of Roman
The Golden Eagles are excited to have the return of Alan Roman in net after missing a few games due to injury. Roman started and played the entire game against Madonna, his first action in a month, and he made three saves including a penalty kick early in the match. 
 
The Outside Backs
Often times in soccer, the defense does not get much of a mention as statistics do not come from the back-line often. Cornerstone has gone through a cycle of players at outside back and last time out Luke Blickley and Davin McMullin got the start. Both players solidified the position and did an outstanding job controlling the Madonna attack, while also controlling possession. Blickley was also a standout on free kicks, sending a few balls in last week that created offensive threats and recording the header that allowed for an easy rebound for the lone goal against Calvin. 
 
History vs. Aquinas
The rivalry between Cornerstone and Aquinas men's soccer dates back to 1973, and in the Golden Eagle recordable history, it has been about as even as you can get as CU has gone 33-32-7 all-time. Recently however, AQ has held the edge winning the last two matchups. Since 2010 the teams have met 14 times, and six of those games have gone to at least one overtime. 
 
History vs. Concordia
Cornerstone has dominated Concordia all-time in CU's recordable history with a record of 57-11-4. Recently, the matches have been more even as CU is 6-4 in the last 10 matchups. Cornerstone played one of their best games of the year at home against Concordia in 2020, winning 5-0. CU has struggled recently in Ann Arbor however, losing the last two contests there in 2019 and 2017. 
 
Scouting the Saints
Aquinas has played just four games this season, and none in conference play as they are still looking for their first win, going 0-3-1 so far. Luke Ruff is in his second season as the AQ Head Coach and he is bringing in a ton of oversees talent with players from Italy, England, New Zeeland, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The Saints have struggled to score this year with just three goals so far, but also have defended decently allowing just nine goals. Theo Maye leads the team in points with three with one goal and one assist and he also has a team high 13 shots. 
 
Scouting the Cardinals
After a 2-0 start to the year, Concordia has lost six straight including the conference opener at Rochester where they fell 6-3. Concordia has scored 1.38 goals per game, but they have struggled on the defensive side giving up 3.63 goals per game. CUAA has tried three different players in net as they have given up 29 goals to their opponents this season. Offensively, the 11 goals have been scored by nine different players with Bryce Schaner and Nicholas Corona as the lone players with two goals. 
 
Men's Soccer Contact: Jesse Campbell
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