Men's Soccer | 10/31/2021 3:24:01 PM
Nazareth College, Houghton College, Utica College, St. John Fisher College and Alfred University will vie for the 2021 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Championship, which starts on Monday, Nov. 1 and wraps up Saturday, Nov. 6, with all games played at the higher seed.
The No. 4 seed and defending E8 Champion St. John Fisher will host No. 5 seed Alfred in the opening round Monday evening at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will travel to face top-seed Nazareth on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. Wednesday, while No. 2 seed Houghton hosts third-seeded Utica in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2021 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday at a time to be determined.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship, which begins on Nov. 13-14.
Participating Teams
No. 1 Nazareth College (7-0-1 E8, 12-1-2 Overall)
No. 2 Houghton College (6-2-0 E8, 7-11-0 Overall)
No. 3 Utica College (6-2-0 E8, 9-6-1 Overall)
No. 4 St. John Fisher College (4-3-1 E8, 5-7-3 Overall)
No. 5 Alfred University (3-5-0 E8, 4-10-2 Overall)
Top-seeded Nazareth enters the Empire 8 Tournament riding an 11-match unbeaten streak (10-0-1) and is 12-1-2 overall in 2021. The Golden Flyers have outscored their opponents this season, 43-10 overall and 18-4 in Empire 8 play, recording a 7-0-1 league mark. Jake Pawlika leads Nazareth in scoring with 11 goals and 25 points, while Cooper LaValley is right behind with 22 points on nine goals and four assists. Pawlika and LaValley each have three game-winning goals, while Drew Decker has a team-record tying 12 assists, which also leads the league. Goalkeeper Logan Menna leads the conference with 12 wins, a 0.59 goals against average, and .882 save percentage and six solo shutouts.
Houghton is the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Highlanders went 6-2-0 in league play. Andy Loomis leads Houghton in scoring with 20 points on six goals and eight assists, while Julius Klohr has 12 points on four goals and four assists, all in league play. Brice Bogna has added five goals. Sam Carpenter has appeared in 14 games between the pipes overall for the Highlanders. He has a 0.75 goals against average and four shutouts in league play this season.
No. 3 seed Utica enters the tournament with a 9-6-1 overall mark, having finished 6-2-0 in E8 play. The Pioneers enter the tournament having won five of its last six games, including five straight league victories. Sory Konate leads the Pioneers in scoring this season with 13 points on five goals and three assists, while Ramazani Juma and Byamungu Mugushu are tied for second with seven points apiece. Twelve different players have scored at least one goal this season. Goalkeeper Foti Xidias has played in 15 games this season and has an impressive 0.86 goals against average and an .831 save percentage with five solo shutouts.
Earlier this season, Houghton defeated Utica, 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 18 to gain the tiebreaker. Andy Loomis scored the game-winner for Houghton just 1:45 into the overtime session
St. John Fisher, the defending E8 Champions, clinched a 2021 tournament berth in the regular season finale on Oct. 30 with a 2-0 win at Elmira. First-year forward Riley Rease leads the team in scoring with 20 points on nine goals and two assists in just 14 contests this season. He has excelled in league play with six goals and 14 points in seven games. Jackson Bishop is second on the team in scoring with four goals. Goalkeeper Jadon Schlierf has played in all 15 games this season, having recorded a 1.48 goals against average and a .793 save percentage.
No. 5 seed Alfred advanced to the Empire 8 Tournament in dramatic fashion, as Stephen Schill scored with nine minutes left in regulation to tie the game and Sai Baraka tallied in overtime to give the Saxons a 2-1 win over Keuka the regular season finale on Oct. 30. The Saxons won the tiebreaker on a three-way tie situation with Elmira and Russell Sage to make its second E8 tournament appearance in the last three seasons. Thirteen different players have scored goals for the Saxons this season. Kalum Holbrook leads the team in scoring with three goals and seven points. Daniel Koenig has played 12 games in net this season.
St. John Fisher defeated Alfred by a score of 1-0 on Oct. 23. Rease scored the lone goal in the 19th minute, while Schlierf made five saves. Nazareth and Fisher played to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 20, while the Golden Flyers knocked off Alfred, 3-0 on Sept. 18.
Nazareth is looking for its fifth league championship and second in the last three seasons. Alfred won Empire 8 co-championships in 2001 and 2003, while Houghton and Utica are looking for their first E8 titles. St. John Fisher was the spring 2021 champion.
This weekend's championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8).
2021 Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship Schedule
Monday, November 1 – First Round
No. 5 Alfred at No. 4 St. John Fisher - 7 p.m.
Wednesday, November 3 - Semifinals
Winner of Alfred vs. St. John Fisher at No. 1 Nazareth – 2 p.m.
No. 3 Utica at No. 2 Houghton- 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 6 - Championship Final
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 at Highest Remaining Seed – TBD
Admission
$6.00 - Adults
$4.00 - Students and seniors with ID
Free - Children under 12
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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