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Spot in National Semifinals on the Line for Men's Soccer This Weekend

Spot in National Semifinals on the Line for Men's Soccer This Weekend

Division III Bracket

HAVERFORD, Pa. – A trip to the national semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri is on the line for the No. 7 Haverford College Men's Soccer team this weekend. Just two wins separate the team from the biggest stage in Division III soccer. Helping the Fords (17-3) out this weekend will be the fact that home field advantage will be on their side when NCAA Sectional action gets underway Saturday at 11 a.m.

Weekend Schedule: Haverford will battle No. 13 St. Lawrence (16-3-2) in the 11 a.m. game Saturday on Walton Field. No. 8 SUNY Oneonta (17-3-1) will take on No. 18 MIT (18-2-1) in the second game which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The two winners will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. with a ticket to Kansas City on the line.

* Rankings used above are from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)

NCAA Required Ticket Prices:
General Admission: $6
Senior Citizens: $3
Students: $3
Children (ages 3-12): $2

*** All Haverford College students, faculty and staff who present a Haverford i.d. will be admitted free of charge courtesy of the Office of the President.

Fords in NCAA Tournament: Haverford now stands among the final 16 teams remaining. Although this is the deepest run in terms of rounds in the program's history, Haverford has stood among the final 16 teams in four of its five NCAA Tournament appearances. In both the 1976 and 1977 seasons, the tournament draw opened with 16 teams. In 1980, the tournament expended to 24 teams and the Fords recorded their first NCAA win in program history against Elizabethtown in overtime to stake their claim among the final 16 competitors.

Series History: Haverford has never met any of the three teams it could play in the program's storied 115 year history.

Common Opponents:

St. Lawrence: The only team Haverford and St. Lawrence have both met this season is Scranton. Scranton was Haverford's first win of the season with a 2-1 victory in the home opener. St. Lawrence's most recent victory came via a 2-0 score against Scranton during the NCAA Tournament second round.

SUNY Oneonta: SUNY Oneonta owns a 2-1 win over Montclair State that came back on September 19. That match came just three days after Montclair State handed Haverford a 3-2 loss. Since that loss on September 16, Haverford has run off a program-record 15 straight victories. SUNY Oneonta also claimed a 2-0 victory against Rutgers-Camden in the second round of the NCAA Tournament a weekend ago. Haverford was a 3-0 winner against the Rutgers-Camden side in early October.

MIT: The only common opponent this season between MIT and Haverford is Stevens Tech. MIT emerged with a 4-3 overtime victory near the end of October on its home field. Stevens Tech downed Haverford during by a 3-2 score during the Fords' first road trip of the season.

Winning streaks: Haverford's 15 game winning streak is the third longest active streak in Division III entering the weekend. SUNY Oneonta and St. Lawrence have each won eight straight to rank fifth among active streaks. The only at-large qualifier of the four, MIT, was 13-0-1 when it took a loss in the NEWMAC Tournament Championship before rebounding with a pair of wins in the NCAA Tournament.

About Haverford: The Fords rank 25th in Division III with an average of 2.70 goals scored per game. They are allowing just under one goal per game and have shut out their opponents in 45 percent of their contests this season.

Leading the offense in scoring is Centennial Conference Player of the Year Sam Yarosh. Yarosh is 24th nationally with 16 goals on the season. He has also added five assists to rank 31st in Division III with 37 points. He is among the top 10 in the country with six game-winning goals. Will Corkery is ranked 12th in the country with 12 assists. He is ranked fourth in Division III, just one behind the national leaders, with a program-record seven game-winning goals this season. He has scored nine goals in total. His only goals that were not game-winners put Haverford up 2-1 before an eventual 3-2 defeat against Stevens Tech. He also would have had the game-winning goal in the NCAA Second Round against Washington and Lee had it not been for a late Generals' goal to make the final score 2-1 as he opened the scoring with penalty kick.

Brady Seitz joined both Yarosh and Corkery as first-team All-CC selections as the two-time first-team All-CC honoree ranked third on the team with seven goals and four assists this season. Two of those goals have been game-winners, while he has scored 28 goals to rank 14th in program history. Tejan Walcott (honorable mention All-CC) has six goals and two assists on the year. He has 18 goals in his career coming into the weekend.

Defensively, Colin Seitz joined his brother as a first-team All-CC selection from his defensive position. The Fords have allowed just five goals in the last 10 matches. Haverford has allowed just eight goals in 11 games on Walton Field this season. Ten of the Fords' 15 consecutive wins have come at home. During the winning streak, the team is outscoring opponents 25-5 on Walton Field. Haverford has allowed more than one goal just once in its last 15 wins, a 4-3 victory at Gettysburg. Maclyn Willigan was a second-team All-CC defender this season, while Sam Miller garnered honorable mention all-conference for his work in goal as the anchor of the defense.

Scouting St. Lawrence: Defense has led the way for the Saints this season. The team ranks fourth in all of Division III by allowing 0.37 goals per game. Liberty League co-Defender of the Year Ryan Roethel has played every minute in goal for the team this season, notching 13 shutouts among his 16 victories. The Saints have not allowed more than one goal in any match this season. Liberty League Player of the Year Harry Copeland was also a first-team all-conference pick from his defensive position, while Dan Hunt and Christian Yarros were second-team selections from the defense.

Ryan Grant is St. Lawrence's leading goal scorer with eight despite having played in just 11 matches this season, making 10 starts. Jethro Dede (4 goals, 1 assist) was a first-team All-Liberty League midfielder for the team. Tapshak Augustine is ranked second on the team with seven goals and is a second-team All-Liberty League forward. The Saints also had four honorable mention all-conference midfielders (Noah Burton, Edward Gonzalez, Sr., Jonathan Mendoza, and Ryan Roche). The team averages 2.19 goals per game, good for 95th in Division III.

Scouting SUNY Oneonta: The Red Dragons also rely heavily on defense as they are ranked sixth in the country with just 0.42 goals allowed per game. SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year Jared Van Brunt, who is also third on the team with six goals, headlined the award winners while goalkeeper Vincent Pellegrino joined him on the first team. Pellegrino has played all but 108 minutes this season. He has helped the defense record 11 shutouts. Matthew Matteo and Greg Silvestro were second-team All-SUNYAC defenders as announced by the conference. Silvestro is also leading the team with eight assists.

Scoring 2.38 goals per game, the Red Dragons offense is ranked 58th in Division III. First-team All-SUNYAC forwards Jake Sutherland and Cory Santangelo are tied for the team lead with seven goals. First-team midfielders Dylan Williams and Anthony Passiatore rounded out the team's five first-team selections. Williams has five goals on the year, while Passiatore played a more defensive role and has two goals. Hans Purtell has three goals and six assists on the year as he was named honorable mention All-SUNYAC.

Scouting MIT: The Engineers come into the weekend with a balance of offense and defense. They are ranked 10th in the country in scoring, averaging exactly three goals per game. On the defensive end of the field, they are the 23rd ranked team as they allow just 0.67 goals per game. Leading the way for the MIT offense is NEWMAC Athlete of the Year Sean Bingham. Bingham is one of three tied for the national lead with eight game-winning goals. His 21 goals this season are the fourth highest mark in Division III. He is also fourth with 54 total points as his 12 assists are ranked 12th nationally.

Kareem Itani and Austin Freel joined Bingham as first-team all-conference performers from the midfield. Itani has scored nine goals and added nine more assists on the year. Freel has five goals and nine assists to his credit. Goalie Jake Amereno and defender Garrett Souza were second-team All-NEWMAC selections. Amereno has started all but one game and has 12 of the team's 13 shutouts.

Up Next: The team that emerges from the Haverford sectional will begin preparations for NCAA Division III Semifinals in Kansas City, Mo. The national semifinal is set for December 4, while the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer National Championship would be played on December 5.