Men’s Soccer Returns Home to Host Oakland

Saturday, October 19

Dayton, OH

3 PM

Wright State University

Oakland

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

10/18/2024 2:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

DAYTON — The Wright State men's soccer team will return home to host Oakland for a Saturday afternoon game. The 3 p.m. matchup will have live stats and ESPN+ livestreaming provided.

MATCH INFORMATION
Saturday, October 19 – 3 p.m. – Live Stats – ESPN+

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland is currently 4-6-2 on the season, sitting fourth in the Horizon League with a 2-1-2 conference record. The Golden Grizzlies recently defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 1-0, with the lone goal coming from Francesco Mazzei.

HISTORY VS. OAKLAND
The Raiders fell on the road in last October's meeting, while the sides have faced each other 26 times in program history.

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders fell to Robert Morris 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, putting up seven shots with three on goal. The lone Raider goal came from Cole Werthmuller in the 80th minute. Leading Wright State was Werthmuller with two shots, both on goal. Edwin Espinal-Elvir followed with two shots, one on target. Brian Burkett, Teun van der Donk, and Brock Pickett each recorded one shot. Senior goalkeeper Joel Shaw logged all 90 minutes, tallying three saves.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: BROCK PICKETT
Wright State senior midfielder Brock Pickett was named the Horizon League Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, September 16. Pickett was the first Raider to receive HL weekly honors since the 2021 season. He earned the honor after logging a full 90 minutes of play against HL opponent IU Indianapolis. The Bay Village, Ohio native Played an integral part in allowing only two shots on goal, with four attempts total, from IUI.

BACK-TO-BACK PLAYER OF THE WEEK: COLE WERTHMULLER
Wright State forward Cole Werthmuller was named the Horizon league Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Monday, September 30.

Werthmuller logged 115 minutes over two games, helping lead the Raiders to a 2-0 week to earn the honor. Over the two games, Werthmuller recorded four shots, putting three on target. He started the week, adding the game-winning goal against Butler.

The Medina, Ohio native earned his first weekly honor on September 23. He earned the acknowledgment after logging all 180 minutes of play over two games, preventing shutout losses and leading the team to tie with Eastern Illinois and HL opponent Milwaukee. Over the two games, the senior recorded 15 shots, six on target, for three goals, all scored with headers.

IN THE LEAGUE
The Raiders are currently tied for fifth in the Horizon League. They sit alongside Northern Kentucky (1-0-4) with seven points. Atop them are Robert Morris and Green Bay with ten points, going 3-1-1 in the League, followed by Purdue Fort Wayne with nine points and a 3-2 record, and Oakland (2-1-2) with eight points. Below the Raiders are Detroit Mercy (1-2-2) with five points, followed by IU Indy, Milwaukee, and Cleveland State with four points and a 1-3-1 conference record.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING
The Raiders currently rank ninth in the nation for total goals (29). WSU ranks 16th in scoring offense (2.23), seventh in shot accuracy (.516), and 24th in shots on goal per game (6.38). With 29 goals and 24 assists, the Raiders rank 17th in the NCAA in total points (82), and 23rd with 6.31 points per game.

Cole Werthuller is sitting 19th in the nation in total goals, scoring eight on the season, ranking 24th in goals per game (.67).

TAKING NOTICE
The United Soccer Coaches released its weekly rankings on Tuesday, October 1, ranking Wright State ninth in the NCAA DI North Region. The recognition came as the Raiders held a 5-3-2 record, previously defeating Purdue Fort Wayne in a 4-0 shutout and Butler, 3-2. The Raiders sat just below fellow Horizon League member Green Bay, who held a 7-3-0 overall record.

RETURNING ALL-LEAGUE TALENT
Wright State returns Horizon League All-Freshman Team honoree Henry Hutchinson. At the conclusion of his first season, Hutchinson started nine matches and played in 13 of the team's contests. He logged 720 minutes, tallying 25 or more minutes in 10 matches, with seven matches of 60-plus minutes.

MEET THE COACHES
The Raiders are led by second-year head coach Alex Van der Sluijs. Van der Sluijs joined Wright State as an assistant coach in April 2022, being named head coach just a year later. He put up a 4-9-5 overall record and 3-4-2 league record his first season, leading the program to the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals. Joining Van der Sluijs on the sidelines is second-year assistant coach Chris Garcia and third-year assistant coach Adam Maloney.

MEET THE SQUAD
WSU welcomes many new faces with 18 newcomers – nine freshmen and nine transfers – to this season's 32-player roster. Of the nine transfers, there are three sophomores and six juniors. The Raiders return 14 players with one redshirt freshman, five sophomores, two juniors, five seniors, and one graduate student.

ALL ACROSS THE GLOBE
Wright State welcomes players from across the globe with 15 international student-athletes on the 2024 roster. Ten Raiders hail from Europe, representing six countries across the United Kingdom, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, and Western Europe. Additionally, four players represent North American countries, and one athlete comes all the way from Australia.

CURRENT CAREER LEADERS

Goals	12 - Cole Werthmuller
Assists	7 – Henry Hutchinson
Saves	61 - Alessandro Malterer
Shots	97 - Cole Werthmuller
Shots on Goal	47 - Cole Werthmuller

NEXT UP
The Raiders will stay home to host Bellarmine on Tuesday, October 22 at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to keep up with the action in person with free admission, or online thought ESPN+ livestreaming and live stats.