CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University men's soccer team has earned the third seed in the New England Collegiate Conference Championship Tournament and will play host to Newbury College at 8:00p on Tuesday on Edward Field.
The Lynx have been rolling of late, going unbeaten in their last five matches with a 4-0-1 record, and capped their season with a 2-1 double overtime win at Southern Vermont to finish the season at 6-10-2 overall and 5-2-1 in NECC matches.
NECC MEN'S SOCCER FIRST ROUND
No. 6 Newbury College (7-10-0, 4-5-0 NECC) at No. 3 Lesley University (6-10-2, 5-2-1 NECC)
Tuesday, November 1st – 8:00p
Edward Field – 80 Gerry's Landing Road, Cambridge, Mass.
Scouting Lesley
After a slow start to the season, Lesley found their way in October as they went 5-3-1 in the month and unbeaten in all six conference matchups. Junior Nuno Pereira (Dorchester, Mass.) leads the Lynx with eight goals while senior Harrison Sidell (Newhall, Calif.) has added four goals and one assist. Junior Anthony Vitta (Oceanside, N.Y.), who potted both goals in the regular season finale win over the Mountaineers last Saturday, and senior Wilton Zuo (Dorchester, Mass.) each have found the back of the net three times. In the past five matches, the Lynx have outscored their opponents by a 16-3 margin, including a 9-0 drubbing of Wheelock on October 22nd.
Junior James Webb (San Francisco, Calif.) has been solid in goal for Lesley, posting a 1.62 goals against average and .702 save percentage.
Scouting Newbury
The Nighthawks started the season getting off to a hot start by going 7-3-1 in September before struggling to a 3-5-0 mark in October. Newbury enters postseason play by losing two of their last three matches. The Newbury offense is a dangerous one as they have two of the league's top goal scorers and led the NECC with 51 total goals on the season. Freshman Nilton De Andrarde has scored 14 goals and dished out four assists while senior Ethan Forrest added 11 tallies and two assists. Senior Alex Davis and freshman Alex Strafer have scored six goals apiece.
Sophomore Jarrod Smith has made 12 starts in between the pipes for the Nighthawks, working to a 5-6-1 mark with two shutouts, a 1.84 GAA, and .771 save percentage.
Previous Matchup
First half goals by Sidell and fellow senior Colin Zeigler (Waldmohr, Germany) powered the offense before Lesley held off a comeback attempt by Newbury in the second half to hang on for the 2-1 victory. The Nighthawks outshot the Lynx 17-13 on the afternoon, including holding an 11-3 edge in the second half.
What's At Stake
The winner of Tuesday night's matchup will advance to the Semifinal Round and battle second-seeded Regis College on the Pride Campus on Friday night. The Pride, along with top-seed Daniel Webster College, have received a First Round bye.
NECC Championship Tournament Schedule
First Round – Tuesday, November 1st
Game 1: #5 Elms @ #4 Mitchell - 2:30 p.m.
Game 2: #6 Newbury @ #3 Lesley 8:00 p.m.
Semifinals – Friday, November 4th
Game 3: Game 1 winner @ #1 Daniel Webster - 2:00 p.m.
Game 4: Game 2 winner @ #2 Regis – 6:00 p.m.
Championship – Sunday, November 6th
Game 5: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner – TBA
Seeding:
1. Daniel Webster College
2. Regis College
3. Lesley University
4. Mitchell College
5. Elms College
6. Newbury College