STANDISH, ME - The Great Northeast Athletic Conference has announced the 2009 Men's Soccer Tournament bracket.
Saint Joseph's College (11-7-1, 7-2 GNAC) closed out the regular season on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Rivier College to capture the #1 seed and will host #8 Johnson & Wales University(2-15, 2-7 GNAC) in a conference quarterfinal at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday, October 31st, at 1:00 PM.
Other quarterfinal matchups to be played this Saturday include #7 Mount Ida College (5-11, 4-5 GNAC) at #2 Lasell College (9-5-3, 6-1-2 GNAC), #6 Emerson College (10-7, 5-4 GNAC) at #3 Suffolk University (8-5-2, 5-2-2 GNAC), and #5 Albertus Magnus College (10-6-1, 5-4 GNAC) at #4 Norwich University (9-6-2, 5-3-1 GNAC).
If victorious on Saturday, the Monks will host the Albertus Magnus/Norwich winner on Tuesday, time TBA, in the semifinal round. The GNAC Championship will be played on Saturday, November 7th, with the highest remaining seed serving as the host.
Saint Joseph's enters the tournament as the top defensive team in the conference. As of October 26th, the Monks rank as the GNAC leaders in fewest goals allowed (18), goals-against average (0.97), and shutouts (9).
St. Joe's, 8-2 at home this fall, defeated JWU on the road, 1-0 in double-overtime, on September 12th.
The Monks have advanced to the playoffs in all three seasons as a member of the GNAC. St. Joe's earned the #7 seed in 2007 and the #3 seed in 2008.