Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Men's Soccer	SIUE Men's Soccer SIUE Athletics

Brian Higgins Season Statistics

Sept. 19, 2005 No. 1 Cougars Battling To Keep Top Spot          EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. - The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men’s soccer team knows one thing every time it takes the field. They are going to get the other team’s best shot.          The top-ranked Cougars are 6-1-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.          “We need to continue to handle teams coming at us at 100 miles an hour,” said SIUE men’s soccer coach Ed Huneke.          The Cougars battle Kentucky Wesleyan at Oerter Park in Columbia, Ill. on Friday night at 7:30. SIUE then takes on Southern Indiana on Sunday with the time and place of that match to be announced later this week.          SIUE defeated Saint Joseph’s and tied 18th-ranked Indianapolis this past weekend. The Cougars have now gone 24 consecutive GLVC regular season games without a loss.          “We had a lot of shots in both games,” said Huneke. “The goals came in the St. Joseph’s game like they should have. In the Indy game, we took some good shots and had some good chances, but didn’t finish.”          Leading scorer Tim Collico (St. Louis) netted his fourth goal of the year against the Pumas. Brian Higgins (St. Charles) and John Matthews (Edwardsville) also notched goals in that contest.          After falling behind against the Greyhounds, Victor Pacheco (San Luis, Brazil) scored in the 55th minute to tie the game. The Cougars outshot Indianapolis 27-4 in the match.          “Our defense needs to be complimented,” said Huneke. “Even though we had a breakdown in the opening of the game Sunday, they are doing a good job.”          The Cougars have outscored their opponents 16-2 this year with a 0.24 goal against average.          Goalkeepers Nicholas Frasca (St. Charles) and Greg Crook (Columbia) have each recorded three shutouts in eight games.                            -siue cougars-