NCAA Tournament Second Round Preview: Saint Joseph's vs. Brandeis University

NCAA Tournament Second Round Preview: Saint Joseph's vs. Brandeis University

STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (15-1-6, 9-0-1 GNAC) will take on Brandeis University (11-5-3, 3-2-2 UAA) in the second round of the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Tournament at 1:10 PM today at Hartwell-Rogers Field on the Babson College campus.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Monks won their first NCAA Tournament contest and advanced to the second round with a 4-2 penalty kick victory over Babson College after a 0-0 tie yesterday. Saint Joseph's earned an automatic berth into the NCAA DIII Tournament after tipping Norwich University, 4-2 in PK's, after 110 minutes of regulation and overtime play failed to produce a winner – or a goal – in the GNAC Championship last Saturday.

Brandeis earned one of 19 at-large berths divvyed out by the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Selection Committee after posting a 3-2-2 record in University Athletic Association (UAA) action this fall. The Judges defeated Western New England University, 2-1, in overtime at Babson yesterday to advance.

The winner of the Saint Joseph's / Brandeis match will face the victor of the Amherst College / Daniel Webster College second round contest in a Sweet 16 matchup next Saturday.

WHAT WE KNOW

Saint Joseph's:

  • Saint Joseph's is in the midst of its third trip to the national tournament first since 2011 when the Monks suffered a 1-0 first-round setback at the hands of Trinity College
  • The Monks have been one of the best defensive teams in the nation this fall with a 0.31 goals against average - the second-lowest mark in the country -and have outscored opponents by a 40-7 margin over 22 matches this year
  • Saint Joseph's also ranks fourth nationally in shutout percentage (71%), third in save percentage (.896), 11th in shots per game (21.29), 20th in shots on goal per game (9.71), and 21st in winning percentage (.833)
  • The Monks are currently riding a program record 20-game unbeaten streak – the third-longest in NCAA DIII Men's Soccer - with the team's only blemish thus far being a 2-0 setback at the hands of University of New England on September 4th
  • Along with the unbeaten streak, Saint Joseph's has established new team records for winning streak (10), shutouts (16), consecutive shutouts (8), and winning percentage

Brandeis:

  • Brandeis is in the midst of its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth-consecutive national tourney trek after making advancing to the Elite Eight in 2014 and the Sweet 16 in 2012, 2013, and 2015
  • Brandeis won the 1976 NCAA DIII National Championship, finished as the runner-up in 1984, and third in 1981
  • The Judges rank 60th in NCAA DIII Men's Soccer in goals against average (0.88), 87th in shutout percentage (0.39), and 85th in save percentage (.798)
  • Brandeis features the 14th-toughest schedule in the nation with a .622 opponents' winning percentage

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Saint Joseph's:

  • Sophomore forward Brett Mattos (Mahopac, N.Y.), a First Team All-GNAC selection, leads the SJC offensive attack with six goals and six assists for 18 total points; five of his six strikes have been of the game-winning variety
  • Junior Austin Bell (Gorham, Maine), who netted three goals in the Monks' quarterfinal win over Mount Ida, has six goals and 12 total points this fall
  • With a balanced attack – 14 different players have scored at least one goal – the Monks have six others with three or more goals on the season: freshman Cody Elliott (Gorham, Maine), sophomore Kartikeya Swarup (Delhi, India), sophomore Dalton Gaumer (Corona, Calif.), junior Trevor Lopes (Cumberland, R.I.), senior Nicholas Borowski (Webster, Mass.), and freshman Noah Robinson (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.)
  • Freshman midfielder JoJo Strobino (Clifton, N.J.) leads the team with seven assists

Brandeis:

  • Senior midfielder Josh Ocel (North Attleboro, Mass.) leads the team in goals (5), assists (13), and points (23)
  • Sophomore forward Andrew Allen (Norfolk, Mass.) is second on the squad with 11 total points (4G, 3A)
  • Senior forwards Evan Jastremski (Marshfield, Mass.) and Zach Vieira (Andover, Mass.) have both tallied nine points on the season

KEEPER COMPARISON:

Saint Joseph's: Sophomore Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) is in the midst of one of the finest seasons ever recorded by a Saint Joseph's goalkeeper, as the 2016 GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year ranks second nationally in both goals against average (0.23), and save percentage (.917) and seventh in minutes (1948). He has set a number of SJC single-season records this fall, including wins (15) and shutouts (14).

Brandeis: Junior Ben Woodhouse (Suffield, Conn.) is the only goalkeeper the Judges have played all fall, as the second-year starter has logged 1835 minutes with a 0.88 goals against average and a .791 save percentage this season. Woodhouse has allowed 18 goals while making 68 saves over 19 starts.

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:

Saint Joseph's Head Coach Adrian Dubois, now in his third season at the helm, is 32-23-6 (.582) overall on the college sideline. The Monks have shown dramatic improvement since his first year (2014), when an injury-maligned club went 5-15 overall (3-6 GNAC), as St. Joe's went 11-7-1 with a 6-3 mark in GNAC play in 2015 en route to earning the #3 seed in the GNAC tourney before emerging as one of the teams to watch in the New England Region this fall. Dubois played collegiately at University of New Hampshire, where he was a four-year starting midfielder.

Michael Coven, now in his 44th season at the helm for Brandeis, is a legendary coach in the region with a 524-265-56 (.664) career record. Named as the New England DIII Men's Soccer Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2015, Coven became the 11th man in NCAA history and sixth in DIII history to reach the 500 career victory plateau. Coven's teams have won four ECAC Division III New England titles, in 1994, 2006 and back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. They have also reached the title game three other times. In his 44 years, Coven's teams have received 29 post-season bids.

COMMON FOE:

Today's meeting will be the first between the Monks and Judges and the teams have just one common 2016 opponent: Babson College. Brandeis suffered a 1-0 double-overtime defeat at the hands of the Beavers on September 10th. Babson held advantages in shots (19-15) and corner kicks (12-8) that day.

In yesterday's victory over Babson, the Monks faced deficits in shots (17-8) and corner kicks (9-4). 

 

 

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.