2014 Men's Soccer Tournament Set to Begin on Saturday
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The 2014 Sun Conference Men's Soccer Tournament is slated to begin on Saturday, Nov. 8 with four quarterfinal matches featuring the top eight teams from the regular season. The winners of Saturday's contests will advance to the semifinals hosted by the highest remaining seed in the tournament. The semifinals and finals are slated for Nov. 14-15.
The 2014 regular season champion, SCAD Savannah, will be the top seed in the tournament following a 9-0-1 record in league play. The Bees, who captured their first TSC title since 2010, sport a 13-game unbeaten streak, stretching back to Sept. 6. SCAD reached the championship game of the conference tournament last year, ultimately falling to Thomas, 6-3.
The Bees feature one of the best defenses in the nation as SCAD has allowed just nine goals in 15 games, holding opponents to just 152 total shots (63 on goal). Goalkeeper Fernando Zeledon sports a 9-0-2 record for the Bees, making 41 saves un 11 matches, as just three goals have been scored on him. His 0.26 goals against average is the best in the country.
Offensively, SCAD looks to Jordan Trinci-Lyne who paces the squad with eight goals and an assist on 40 shots. Torin Melville has added three scores and two assists while Naim El-Harriti leads the team with four assists.
SCAD will play host to eighth-seeded St. Thomas after the Bobcats grabbed the final berth to the conference tournament due to a tie-breaking win over Webber International. St. Thomas went 3-7 in league play in 2014, returning to the league tournament for the first time since 2012.
STU has a balanced scoring attack with five different players contributing at least three goals, led by Marcelo Norton and Mikhail Weatherly who each have scored five goals for the Bobcats. Weatherly, Norton, Andres Ruiz and Carlos Cruz each have three assists in 2014, as St. Thomas has managed to outshoot its opponents, 221-202.
In goal, Jack Hubbard has garnered six starts in 14 games with 41 saves, including a shutout.
Regular Season Result: SCAD def. STU, 2-1 (Hardeeville, S.C.)
The No. 2 seed in the tournament is the Florida Memorial Lions. FMU went 8-2 in Sun Conference play, securing the second spot in the standings, including a win over then-No. 1 Thomas (Ga.) on Oct. 10.
The Lions feature a deep squad as 31 different players have seen playing time in 2014. FMU has outscored its opponents, 33-19, nearly doubling its opponents in shots at 217-129. Marco Perreta leads the team with six goals and two assists, while Pablo Garcia has five scores and Henrique Rezek has added four goals of his own.
In goal, Pablo Terminiello has a 1.20 GAA with 27 saves and a .771 save percentage with a trio of shutouts.
The Lions will host No. 7 seed Warner after the Royals secured a spot in the conference tournament with a win over rival Webber International in the final contest of the regular season. Warner went 4-5-1 in conference play for 13 points.
The Royals have played a very even 2014 season, scoring 25 goals and allowing 25 goals. Bruno da Silva has nine goals for Warner to go along with four assists, both lead the team.
Leo Viala has played in nearly all 1,500 minutes in goal for the Royals, boasting a 1.69 GAA with 63 saves and a .716 save percentage.
Regular Season Result: FMU def. WU, 2-0 (Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Last season's tournament champion, Thomas is the No. 3 seed in the eight-team event after a 7-2-1 mark in league play. The Night Hawks spent several weeks as the top-ranked team in the country and hold numerous wins over NAIA top-25 teams.
TU has a two-headed monster offensively as both Severin Abt and Jonathan McGrath have scored 10 goals for the Night Hawks. McGrath's fourth assist ranks third on the team, behind Lyle Gifford's 10 and Jake Slocombe's five.
Goalkeeper Alex Condell has four shutouts with 57 saves in nearly 1,300 minutes as the Night Hawks have allowed just 22 goals on the year.
Thomas welcomes sixth-seeded Southeastern to Thomasville, Ga. on Saturday in a rematch of a semifinal contest from last season. The Fire finished 4-4-2 in Sun Conference play to place sixth for the second consecutive year.
SEU has managed 44 goals in 2014, nearly three per game with a .199 shot percentage. Pedro Ivo Dias has eight of the team's 44 scores, followed by Gerritson Craane with six and Ashton Hicks with five.
David Danahy's 81 saves lead the conference as the goalkeeper has a .802 save percentage and 1.16 GAA.
Regular Season Result: TU def. SEU, 3-2 (Lakeland, Fla.)
Northwood is the fourth seed and the final host of Saturday's quarterfinal action after the Seahawks went 6-2-2 in TSC play. Northwood receives an automatic berth to the 2014 NAIA National Championship final site thanks to a host berth.
The Seahawks have outscored their opponents, 24-12 this year with Mark Hanlon's five goals pacing 13 different goal scorers for NU. Hanlon also leads the team with four assists.
Mark Dawson has played in 850 minutes in net, making 33 saves with six shutouts for Northwood.
Northwood won its final regular season game against Embry-Riddle to earn the right to host the fifth-seeded Eagles in the quarterfinals. ERAU went 5-4-1 in league play in its final season in the NAIA and Sun Conference.
Veit Couturier leads the league with 14 goals and 30 total points, while Daniel Gylfason has chipped in four goals and six assists for the Blue and Gold.
Nils Carlson has posted four shutouts and a 1.02 GAA with 63 saves for Embry-Riddle.
Regular Season Result: NU def ERAU, 1-0 (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Visit
www.thesunconference.com/msoctournament for tournament headquarters.