FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
It's Good to Be Home: Top 4 Seeds Advance To NE-10 Semifinal Round
The top four seeds in this year's Northeast-10 Conference Men's Soccer Championship field all won earlier today, setting up two powerhouse semifinal showdowns Friday evening. Here's how Tuesday's Quarterfinal action played out -
#1 Southern New Hampshire 3, #8 Saint Michael's 0 | BOX SCORE
MANCHESTER, N.H. - In its first postseason appearance in eight years, eighth-seeded Saint Michael's fell to top-seeded and nationally-ranked Southern New Hampshire, 3-0, in a Northeast-10 Conference Championship quarterfinal game on Tuesday night at Larkin Field.
The Penmen, now 16-1, have won the last three NE-10 Championships while extending their league tournament winning streak to 10 games and pushing their postseason unbeaten run to 13 contests.
Southern New Hampshire is third in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national poll and first in the NCAA East Region rankings. The hosts advanced to the last seven NCAA Tournaments, winning the 2013 national crown.
Graduate student Sofiane Tergou had one goal and one assist for Southern New Hampshire. Senior Sebastian Stezewski and junior Michael Rowley also scored, while senior Jonathan Lupinelli dished two assists. Senior Nick Zucco recorded a five-save shutout.
Saint Michael's senior Nicco Roque made a career-high-tying 10 saves in his 46th career appearance for Saint Michael's, concluding his career fourth in program history in wins (19), tied for fourth in shutouts (14), and sixth in goals-against average (1.50) and goalkeeper minutes (3,845:47).
#2 Merrimack 2, #7 Saint Rose 0 | BOX SCORE
ANDOVER, Mass. - Two second-half goals in the span of 127 seconds would be the difference for the second-seeded Warriors to advance to Friday's semifinal round, where they will host Adelphi.
After a scoreless first half, Merrimack's Joseph Briers scored on a free kick from about 20 yards outside the Saint Rose goal, and then just over two minutes later Augusto Silva would provide the final margin of victory with the second goal of the game on a beautiful setup from teammates Douglas Searl and Briers.
Merrimack's Lucas Rezende faced just one shot for the shutout win.
The loss completes the Saint Rose season, as the Golden Knights finish arguably the most successful season in program history with a mark of 8-8-1.
#3 Adelphi 2, # 6 Le Moyne 0 | BOX SCORE
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Two second half goals propelled Adelphi to the Northeast-10 Conference Semifinal round after a 2-0 victory against Le Moyne in a quarterfinal match this evening.
Both teams created opportunities in the first half, however, neither was able to finish those chances.
Adelphi put more shots in the air, 8-3, while Le Moyne created more corner kicks, 3-2.Ben Beaury stopped two shots in net for the Dolphins while Spenser Powell made one save for the Panthers.
The pressure from the first half continued into the second half for the Brown and Gold with an early strike. Less than five minutes into the period, James Thristino finished a cross from Federico De Oliveira on the far post after a pass from the left side.
Thristino was again apart of another goal for the Panthers in the 73rd minute. Will Rezin created from the same space De Oliveira did earlier, sending a low line drive that the freshman tipped behind to find the foot of Caelan Hueber, finishing from six yards out to give Adelphi a 2-0 lead.
The Brown and Gold now head to Andover to take on Merrimack Friday in one of the two semifinal games.
#4 Bentley 3, #5 Southern Connecticut 2 | BOX SCORE
WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior Nick Hoffman scored the tying and go-ahead goals two minutes apart in the 2nd half, and assisted on Bentley's third goal, as the Falcons downed Southern Connecticut 3-2 Tuesday afternoon in the Northeast-10 Championship quarterfinals.
The Falcons advance to Friday's semifinals where they will meet top-seeded Southern New Hampshire.
Bentley fell behind 1-0 in the 53rd minute as Southern Connecticut's Chae Brangman got on the end of a long ball to put the Owls in front.
14 minutes elapsed before the Falcons equalized. Right back Chuck Leone set the goal up with an overlapping run down the right wing and a cross into the penalty box, that Hoffman finished off with a low shot from 12 yards out.
With the score tied 1-1, it took Bentley less than two minutes to jump in front. Scott Levy got it started with a cross in from the right wing to forward Sean Sullivan in the box. Sullivan won the ball and played a pass off to Hoffman, who blasted a shot up top from 20 yards away to give Bentley a 2-1 lead in the 69th minute.
Left back Brett Ripperger then got the third goal started with run down the left wing and pass in to Hoffman. Hoffman then played a short pass to Levy, who volleyed his shot to the far post to give Bentley a 3-1 lead in the 76th minute, and three goals for Bentley in less than 10 minutes.
The Owls wouldn't go away quietly though as midfielder Josh Abromaitis scored in the 79th minute to cut the lead to 3-2.
Additional information for this release provided by the Adelphi, Bentley, and Saint Michael's Athletics Communications Staffs
2015 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Soccer Championship Schedule
1. Southern New Hampshire (12-1, 36 pts)
2. Merrimack (9-2-2, 29 pts) *
3. Adelphi (9-2-2, 29 pts) *
4. Bentley (8-4-1, 25 pts) **
5. Southern Connecticut (8-4-1, 25 pts) **
6. Le Moyne (8-4-1, 25 pts) **
7. Saint Rose (7-5-1, 22 pts)
8. Saint Michael¹s (5-7-1, 16 pts)
* Merrimack and Adelphi tied during the season; Merrimack earns the higher seed via a win over So. New Hampshire (Adelphi lost to SNHU).
** In the three-way tie between Bentley, So. Connecticut and Le Moyne, the tie-breaker was record within the mini-conference (Bentley had a 2-0 record; So. Connecticut had a 1-1 record; and Le Moyne had a 0-2 record).
Tuesday, November 3rd
Quarterfinals at Higher Seeds
Match 1: #1 Southern New Hampshire 3, #8 Saint Michael's 0
Match 2: #2 Merrimack 2, #7 Saint Rose 0
Match 3: #3 Adelphi 2, #6 Le Moyne 0
Match 4: #4 Bentley 3, #5 Southern Connecticut 2
Friday, November 6th
Semifinals - at Higher Seeds
Match 5: #4 Bentley at #1 Southern New Hampshire Time TBD
Match 6: #3 Adelphi at #2 Merrimack Time TBD
Sunday, November 8th
Championshipat Highest Seed
Match 7: Match 5 Winner vs. Match 6 Winner
*Please note that the championship game time shall be 1:00 PM.
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
