Dartmouth Men Host Holy Cross to Kick-Off 2010 - Video Preview Interview

HANOVER, N.H. - The Dartmouth men's soccer team will host Holy Cross this Saturday night as the Big Green begins its quest for a fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid.

The team will be hosting an autograph night after the game, when fans can receive a 2010 team poster and meet their favorite Big Green players on the Burnham Field concourse.

Video streaming (subscription-based) and live stats (free) will be offered along with a free in-game blog.

Game 1: vs. Holy Cross
POSTGAME AUTOGRAPH SESSION
Date: Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010 • 7:00 PM
Location: Burnham Field, Hanover, N.H.
Livestats • Live Video ($) • In-Game Blog

Series Record: Dartmouth leads, 1-0
Streak: Dartmouth +1
The two New England schools have only met once on the soccer field, a 3-2 Dartmouth victory on Nov. 4, 2003. The game was played on the Holy Cross campus in Worcester, Mass.

A LOOK AT DARTMOUTH: The Big Green brings back 24 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. Head coach Jeff Cook has a class of nine seniors to lean on for veteran leadership as his squad looks to get back atop the Ivy League after finishing fourth last fall. Dartmouth brings back much of its offense from last fall, featuring senior midfielder and co-captain Daniel Keat who tallied 22 points on eight goals and six assists and junior Lucky Mkosana who contributed eight goals and four assists. Both have been named to the 39-man MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List after earning first team All-Ivy and All-Northeast honors last fall. Fellow captain Andrew Olsen is also a scoring threat with 29 career points. The Big Green also boasts a veteran defensive corps led by senior Bryan Giudicelli, a three-year starter and sophomore goalie Sean Donovan, back after starting much of the season as a rookie.

A LOOK AT HOLY CROSS: Holy Cross heads to Hanover after taking a 1-0 loss to Sacred Heart in its opener and having been chosen to finish sixth in the Patriot League. Under second year head coach Ted Priestly, Holy Cross looks to improve upon its mark of 6-10 a year ago. A critical part of that goal is senior Kyle Miller, who was voted the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year after tallying seven points and earning second team all-conference honors as a junior. Holy Cross will be auditioning for a new goalkeeper following the graduation of Thomas Booth, who posted a solid 1.09 goals against average last fall.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Dating back to its first season in 2007, Dartmouth boasts a 19-3-3 record on Burnham Field, making it an intimidating yet pristine environment for visiting teams. Dartmouth has led the Ivy League in attendance for the last three seasons, welcoming an average of 1,000+ fans for two of those years. For a nationally-televised game against Brown on Nov. 14, 2008, Dartmouth broke the Burnham Field record with a sellout crowd of 2,114.

NEXT TIME OUT: Dartmouth stays home next weekend, hosting its own Dartmouth Classic Tournament that will feature Holy Cross, San Diego and Stony Brook. The Big Green will take on San Diego on Friday night, Sept. 10 - the same night the Dartmouth women play the Toreros in California - and will face Stony Brook on Sunday afternoon.

Schedules