Stevens Set To Host 2014 Men's Soccer Playoffs
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E8 Tournament History
The Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team will host the Empire 8 playoffs this weekend at De Baun Athletic Complex. Both semifinal games will be played on Friday, with the E8 championship game taking place on Saturday. The winner of the tournament will earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships later this month.
Beginning at 1 p.m., Friday's first semifinal game will feature top-seeded Stevens and fourth-seeded Alfred University. The second semifinal contest will start at 4 p.m., and will feature second-seeded Ithaca College and third-seeded Utica College. The winner of both games will face off at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
*Admission each day is $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. Admission is free children 12 and under.
First Semifinal Game: Stevens vs. Alfred
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The top seeded Ducks come into the playoffs with a 12-3-1 overall record, including a perfect 7-0 mark in the Empire 8. Carson Pryon, who paces Stevens with 10 goals and 23 points, leads them offensively. Mike Renna has been the mainstay in net all season making 47 saves and posting seven shutouts.
Alfred comes in as the fourth seed with a 9-7-2 overall mark. It is the first time Alfred has qualified for the tournament since 2006. Jeff Thomas leads Alfred with eight goals and 19 points, while Richard Lander ranks first with five assists. Goalkeeper Chris Gutierrez has started nine games for the Saxons this season and has made 34 saves with a 1.92 goals against average.
In their last meeting, Stevens defeated Alfred on Oct. 25, dropping the Saxons by a score of 4-0 in Hoboken. Just over eight minutes into the second half, Stevens was able to net their first goal of the game when Carson Pryor beat the AU keeper one-on-one. Pryor would add another goal in the 78th minute to increase the Duck lead to 2-0. The Ducks added another goal just over two minutes later. Finally, in the 89th minute a PK led to the final goal for Stevens giving them the 4-0 victory.
Second Semifinal Game: Ithaca v Utica
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Second-seeded Ithaca finished the season with a record of 5-7-3, including a record of 5-1-1 in Empire 8 play. Ithaca earned a share of the Empire 8 championship in 2012 and is looking for its first outright title since 2002. Sean Forward leads the team with five goals and 11 points. Jordan Gentile has seen the majority of the time in net for Nazareth, finish the regular season with 65 saves and a 1.49 goals against average.
Utica, the third-seed in the E8 tournament, finished the year with a record of 7-8-3 overall and a conference record of 4-3. It marks the third time in the last five years Utica has qualified for the tournament. The Pioneers have never won a soccer championship, but advanced to the final for the first time in 2013. Shane Ruffing leads the Pioneers and the E8 with 12 goals and 28 points. Bita Gazashvili paces Utica with six assists and goalkeeper David Abdou has five shutouts to his name to go along with 110 saves.
In their last meeting, Sean Forward scored the only goal of the in the 27th minute, giving Ithaca the 1-0 win on Oct. 11. Goalkeeper Jordan Gentile was credited with the win for Ithaca after stopping all seven shots he faced. David Abdou took the loss for Utica after making nine saves on 10 shots.
Championship Game: TBD vs. TBD
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