Prince George's Men's Soccer Makes 2017 Home Debut Against Harford On Tuesday Night

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Harford (3-0-1) vs
No. 6 Prince George's (1-0-0)
Tuesday, September 5, 2017, 6:00 p.m.
PGCC Bermuda Soccer Field, Largo, Md.

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HARFORD: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS 
PRINCE GEORGE'S: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS 

opening pitch… After opening the season with a 3-1 win against nationally-ranked Nassau, Prince George's makes its 2017 PGCC Bermuda Soccer Field debut and opens Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference play against Harford in a battle of the Owls on Tuesday night in Largo. Thanks to two goals by Edwin Claros, Prince George's defeated Harford last season in Bel Air.

the word on fighting owls… Harford comes into match 3-0-1 and 0-0-0 in Maryland JUCO action after defeating Sussex County 6-3 on Friday. Antonio Savi tallied a hat trick against Sussex County for his second three-goal performance of the season. Savi leads the team with eight goals and two assists for 18 points. Dougie McIndoe ranks second on the squad with two tallies and two assists for six points while the Fighting Owls have had four other players find the back of the twine on the young season. Michael Nelson leads the team with eight saves, a 0.88 goals against average and a .727 save percentage.

last time out… Edwin Claros scored a goal in each half to propel sixth-ranked Prince George's Community College past No. 5 Nassau Community College 3-1 at the Tom Bichy Memorial Men's Soccer Tournament on Sunday. Edwin Claros, a National Junior College Athletic Association Second-Team All-American last season, scored in the third minute and then found the twine early in the second half to help the Owls to the season-opening victory. Roshawn Panton added a goal in the second half while Elmer Hernandez dished out an assist on Edwin Claro's first tally of the afternoon and Carlos Calix dished out a helper on Panton's marker. Jonathan Claros made eight saves in the winning effort.

next time out… Prince George's starts a two-game road trip on Friday at CCBC Essex and then will head to Chesapeake on Sept. 12. The Owls return home against Cecil on Sept. 15.

the owl returners… Prince George's returns five players from last year's NJCAA Division III Region XX championship team, including NJCAA Second-Team All-American Edwin Claros who lead the team with 17 goals and nine assists for 43 points. Fabian Castillo ranked fourth on the team with six goals and five assists for 15 points. Goalkeeper Jonathan Claros posted 74 saves, a 1.18 goals against average and a .763 save percentage in 1757:31 minutes played. Helping Jonathan Claros in the defense are returners Elmer Hernandez and Farouk Tijani. Also returning to the backfield is Celio Grice, who appeared in 19 games including 16 starts during the 2015 season.

in the ranks… The Prince George's Community College men's soccer team was tabbed sixth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Men's Soccer Preseason Rankings. The Owls were ranked for five weeks last season, including sitting in the No. 6 spot for the final two weeks of the regular season. The squad comes into the 2017 season in the same spot it ended 2016 with its No. 6 ranking. Richland is the preseason No. 1 team while Camden County, Genesee, Herkimer and Nassau cap the top half of the poll. Prince George's, Suffolk County, Bristol, Bergen and Anoka-Ramsey round out the 10-team poll.

about last season… Prince George's finished 14-7 and captured its sixth NJCAA Division III Region XX Tournament title and fifth trip to the national championships. The Owls defeated Anne Arundel 4-1 in the Region XX Semifinals and then earned a 1-0 victory against Montgomery for the squad's first region title since 2009. Prince George's finished fifth on the national stage after falling to Camden County 2-0 and defeating Bristol 4-1.

returning all-american… Sophomore Edwin Claros was named an NJCAA Second-Team All-American after leading the team with 17 goals and nine assists for 43 points. He registered five multi-goal performances including hat tricks against Allegany and Northern Virginia. The sophomore has one multi-goal performance in 2017.

men's soccer tradition… The 2017-18 athletic season marks the 50th Anniversary of the start of intercollegiate athletics at Prince George's Community College. The college started at Suitland High School in 1957 before moving to its current Largo campus in the fall 1967. Prince George's began an intercollegiate athletic program in the fall of 1967 and the men's soccer program was one of the first programs created. The men's soccer program is also one of the most successful teams in the first 50 years after claiming six National Junior College Athletic Association Region XX Tournament titles (1982, 1983, 1996, 1999, 2009, 2016) and five appearances in the national tournament (1982, 1983, 1996, 1999, 2016). In addition, men's soccer has produced 43 NJCAA All-Americans in this span.

alumni day… As part of the 50th Anniversary celebration, Prince George's athletics is hosting a Student-Athlete Alumni Day on Saturday, September 30. Any former student-athlete is invited to the event that will feature alumni soccer games or alumni basketball events and a catered barbecue. The event is free to former student-athlete alumni, one guest over the age of 15 and up to four children 14 years old or younger. To participate in Alumni Day, please pre-register by September 22 at www.pgccowls.com/alumniday

about the coach… Taiye Akinmboni will serve as the interim head coach for the men's soccer program for the 2017 season after serving as an assistant coach for the Owls. Akinmboni came back to Prince George's in 2004 as a volunteer coach with the men's soccer program. He later became the goalkeeper coach before serving as an assistant coach. Akinmboni played for the Owls in 1998 and 1999, including being a member of the NJCAA Region XX championship and finishing 4th at the national tournament in 1999.