Rockhurst Men’s Soccer Notes—Sept. 6, 2012

Rockhurst opens the Great Lakes Valley Conference season Friday against Saint Joseph’s in Rensselaer, Ind. The Pumas (1-1-0) have won two of the last three meetings versus Rockhurst. The Hawks (1-0-1) lead the all-time series by a 9-3 margin. Rockhurst shut out the Pumas, 5-0, last year in Kansas City. Saint Joe’s opened the season with a 4-1 loss to Saginaw Valley State and a 1-0 win over Wabash College.

ROAD WIN: The Hawks posted their first win of the season last Sunday at Newman. Mark Magee’s goal in the 85th minute gave Rockhurst a 1-0 win over the Jets in Wichita, Kan. The Hawks outshot Newman, 18-7. Magee led the Hawks with four shots. Junior goalkeeper Ryan Bass collected three saves. The Hawks opened the season with a 1-1 tie at Benedictine on Aug. 30.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: Rockhurst is ranked 15th in this week’s NSCAA Division II national rankings after opening the season at No. 6. The Hawks are ranked second in the NSCAA Midwest regional poll, behind the GLIAC’s Saginaw Valley State. The GLVC has four of the top 10 teams in the region.

COACH TONY TOCCO: Rockhurst head coach Tony Tocco enters his 42nd season at Rockhurst as the one of the winningest men’s coaches of all-time in college soccer. He currently ranks third in career victories (600) and 28th in all-time winning percentage (.762) among men’s coaches. Tocco stands first in wins and second in winning percentage among active NCAA Division II men’s coaches.

PRE-SEASON POLL: The Hawks have been picked to finish first in the GLVC preseason poll of league coaches. Tocco returns10 starters from a team that finished 17-2-3 overall and came in first place in the GLVC with a 12-2-1 record. The Hawks qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history.

ROUND ROBIN SCHEDULE: The 16 GLVC men’s soccer teams will compete in a 15-game 
round robin schedule during the regular season with the top eight teams earning a berth to the GLVC Championship Tournament. The top four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on campus on Oct. 28 
with the four remaining teams heading to the top remaining seed site for the semifinals and final on 
Nov. 2 and 4.