2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team
The 2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team represented Sacred Heart University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Mark Nofri and played their home games at Campus Field. They were a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 5–1 in NEC play to be NEC co-champions with Duquesne. Due to their head-to-head loss to Duquesne, they did not receive the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs and did not receive and at-large bid.
2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football | |
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NEC co-champion | |
Conference | Northeast Conference |
2018 record | 7–4 (5–1 NEC) |
Head coach | Mark Nofri (6th season) |
Offensive coordinator | Matt Gardner |
Defensive coordinator | Michael Cooke |
Home stadium | Campus Field (Capacity: 3,500) |
2018 Northeast Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 21 Duquesne +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sacred Heart + | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Central Connecticut | 4 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wagner | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saint Francis (PA) | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bryant | 2 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Morris | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
The Pioneers finished the 2017 season 4–7, 2–4 in NEC play to finish in a tie for fifth place.
Preseason
NEC coaches poll
The NEC released their preseason coaches poll on July 24, 2018, with the Pioneers predicted to finish in sixth place.[1] They did not place any players on the preseason all-NEC team.
Predicted finish | Team |
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1 | Central Connecticut |
2 | Duquesne |
3 | Bryant |
4 | Saint Francis |
5 | Wagner |
6 | Sacred Heart |
7 | Robert Morris |
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Lafayette* | W 35–6 | 4,157 | |
September 8 | 3:30 p.m. | at Bucknell* | W 30–14 | 1,872 | |
September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | at Wagner | W 41–14 | 3,178 | |
September 29 | 1:00 p.m. | at Cornell* | L 24–43 | 3,620 | |
October 6 | 3:00 p.m. | Penn* |
| L 27–31 | 4,503 |
October 13 | 6:00 p.m. | at Dartmouth* | L 0–42 | 3,138 | |
October 20 | 1:00 p.m. | at Central Connecticut | W 28–25 | 5,117 | |
October 27 | 1:00 p.m. | Bryant |
| W 49–26 | 1,678 |
November 3 | Noon | Robert Morris |
| W 38–7 | 1,556 |
November 10 | Noon | at Duquesne | L 24–28 | 1,304 | |
November 17 | Noon | Saint Francis (PA) |
| W 13–7 | 1,852 |
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- Source: Schedule
Game summaries
Lafayette
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leopards | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
Pioneers | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
3–1 | 2017 | SHU, 38–24 |
at Bucknell
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 30 |
Bison | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
1–2 | 2017 | BUCK, 34–31 |
at Wagner
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneers | 7 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 41 |
Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
8–11 | 2017 | WAG, 28–15 |
at Cornell
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Big Red | 16 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 43 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
2–0 | 2016 | SHU, 31–24 |
Penn
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quakers | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
Pioneers | 0 | 0 | 21 | 6 | 27 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
First meeting |
at Dartmouth
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Big Green | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
2–3 | 2017 | DART, 29–26 |
at Central Connecticut
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneers | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
Blue Devils | 3 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 25 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
8–12 | 2017 | CCSU, 26–15 |
Bryant
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bulldogs | 14 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 26 |
Pioneers | 14 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 49 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
6–5 | 2017 | BRY, 48–45 |
Robert Morris
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colonials | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Pioneers | 21 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 38 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
11–8 | 2017 | BRY, 21–14 |
at Duquesne
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
Dukes | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
4–9 | 2017 | DUQ, 37–21 |
Saint Francis (PA)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Red Flash | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Pioneers | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
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10–11 | 2017 | SHU, 16–7 |
References
- "Northeast Conference - Defending Champ CCSU Tops Preseason Coaches' Poll, Places League-high Seven on All-NEC Team". www.northeastconference.org.