Men's Soccer | 11/2/2017 9:52:00 AM
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Empire 8 Conference championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament is on the line this weekend as Nazareth's men's soccer team travels to Hoboken, N.J. to compete in the E8 Tournament.
The Golden Flyers are seeded second with a 10-5-1 overall record and will play third-seeded Sage (9-5-2) Friday at 4 p.m. at Stevens in the tournament semifinals. The top-seeded Ducks (9-6-2) plays fourth-seeded St. John Fisher (8-5-4) in the other semifinal game at 7 p.m. The championship game is Saturday at 7 p.m. at Stevens.
For the Golden Flyers, who finished 5-2 in conference matches, ascending to the E8 Tournament is no small accomplishment after they went winless overall just two years ago. Nazareth is making its first E8 Tournament appearance since 2013 and is seeking its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2006. The Golden Flyers' last post-season victory came in 2010.
"Our guys have worked really hard to get to this point," said Nazareth Coach
Matt Tantalo, now in his second season. "We're excited to see what we can do down at Stevens."
How They Got Here: The Golden Flyers took care of business in conference action this season, scoring home-field wins over Sage, Alfred and Houghton and defeating Utica and St. John Fisher on the road. They lost to Elmira at home and Stevens on the road in conference play. The roster features 13 freshmen and five sophomores, most of whom have logged significant minutes.
Players to Watch: The Golden Flyers have utilized a balanced attack to be successful with freshmen Josh Crespo and Matt Gasbarre leading the way with six and five respectively. Sophomore goalkeeper
Brian Wilkin is out with an illness, paving the way for freshman Josh McNutt to make his second career start Friday. He started in the Golden Flyers' season finale against Houghton last Saturday and had nine saves in the 2-1 win.
Last Time They Met:
vs. Sage (9/16/17) -- In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, Nazareth scored once in each half of a 2-0 shutout win.
Christopher Rowland, one of two seniors on the team, scored in the first half and freshman Max Staniec scored late in the second. Nazareth had a 17-12 advantage in shots.
at St. John Fisher (10/14/17) -- Crespo netted the game-winning goal late in the first overtime for a 1-0 Nazareth win. The Cardinals had a golden opportunity when they were awarded a penalty kick with about five minutes left in regulation, but Wilkin made a diving save to keep Fisher off the board.
at Stevens (10-21/17) -- Stevens dominated the action with advantages in shots (25-5) and corner kicks (7-0), but a late first-half goal by freshman Justin Pumputis temporarily tied the score at 1-1. The Ducks went ahead for good about four minutes later and tacked on a goal in the second half for a 3-1 win.
Turning things around: Nazareth went 0-15-1 in 2015, then improved to 6-8-2 in Tantalo's first season in 2016. The 10 victories this season are the most for the Golden Flyers since 2011.
Nazareth Coach Matt Tantalo: Tantalo was the head coach at Keuka for 11 seasons before leaving to join the Golden Flyers in 2016. He produced a record of 104-62-16 (.615) for the Wolves. He also was an assistant coach at Syracuse for one season and head coach at Elmira for three seasons before that. His overall record (including this season) is 136-106-22 (.557).
