Alfred earns 2015 ECAC Metro-Upstate Bid
Brandon Harrison
ALFRED, NY—The Alfred University men's soccer team (10-5-2, E8 3-3-1) has earned an ECAC Division III Metro-Upstate Quarterfinal home game against Manhattanville College (9-6-4, MAC 3-1-3) Wednesday evening at 7:30 PM.
The ECAC bid is the second the Saxons have earned in two years. In 2014, AU faced Drew University in the quarterfinals in Madison, NJ, falling to the Rangers 3-1. Senior
Omar Mohamed (Kakuma, Kenya/Edison Tech) scored the lone goal for the Saxons on a volley that chimed in off the upper ninety.
AU fell short in the last matchup against Manhattanville, 2-1, in overtime in the 2014 season opener at the Frostburg State Tournament. The Valiants scored in the 9
th minute of the game on a penalty kick by then, senior Michael Alcaraz. 2014 senior
Jeff Thomas answered with a penalty kick in the 22
nd minute, which would prove to be the last goal in regulation. Finally in the 104
th minute, Jamie Macchia, another graduated senior from 2014, scored off a throw in to end the game.
In 2015, Manhattanville's offense is paced by sophomore Robin Schaufele with seven goals and four assists and freshman Oskar Martinsson with five goals and five assists. Junior Jesper Hjalm leads the Valiants with six assists. Senior Willie Silber has been the primary keeper for Manhattanville, making 80 saves while only allowing 14 goals against. He has posted a 9-5-4 record with five shutouts.
The Saxons offense is primed by the junior duo of
Richard Lander (Newburgh, NY/Sullivan West) and
Oumar Soumahoro (New York, NY/Martin Luther King). Lander leads the Saxons in goals (11) and assists (9) while Soumahoro boasts nine goals and three assists. Sophomore
Chris Gutierrez (Holbrook, NY/Sachem East) has assumed the starting keeper position and maintains a 7-4-1 record with four shutouts. He has notched 53 saves while allowing only 10 goals against in 1056 minutes of play.
The winner of the Alfred University/Manhattanville College matchup will move on to the second round and travel to take on #1 seeded Stockton University (14-5-1, NJAC 6-2-1) in Galloway, NJ.
The remainder of the bracket is as follows:
First Round – Wednesday, Nov. 11
No. 1 Stockton (14-5-1) vs. BYE
No. 7 Centenary (9-8-0) vs. No. 2 Rutgers-Newark (13-7-1) – 8 p.m.
No. 6 Brooklyn College (9-8-2) vs. No. 3 Drew (11-4-3) – 7 p.m.
No. 5 Manhattanville (9-6-4) vs. No. 4 Alfred (9-5-2) – 7:30 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, Nov. 14 at Highest Remaining Seed
Semifinal #1: No. 1 Stockton vs. No. 4 Alfred/No. 5 Manhattanville - TBA
Semifinal #2: No. 2 Rutgers-Newark/No. 7 Centenary winner vs. No. 3 Drew/No. 6 Brooklyn winner - TBA
Championship – Sunday, Nov. 16 at Highest Remaining Seed
Winner Semifinal #1 vs. Winner Semifinal #2 - TBA