CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University men's soccer team will travel to Norwich University tonight as the teams square off in the First Round of the ECAC Championship. The top-seeded Cadets enter the tournament with a 13-6-2 overall record on the season after falling to Johnson & Wales in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Finals last week. The eighth-seeded Lynx, who are entering the ECAC Tournament for the third straight season, enter at 10-6-4 after seeing their New England Collegiate Conference run end in the Semifinals with a 2-0 loss to the eventual champion Daniel Webster College Eagles.
ECAC DIII NEW ENGLAND MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 8 Lesley University (10-6-4) @ No. 1Norwich University (13-6-2)
Wednesday, November 12th – 7:00p
Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium
Scouting Norwich
Sophomores Jacob Zimmerman (Litchfield, N.H.) and Alex Brigante (Colchester, Vt.) power a strong Cadet offense that outscored opponents by a 56-24 margin. Zimmerman led the attack with 17 goals and an assist in 18 matches on the year for 37 points. Brigante was not far behind as he tallied nine goals and eight assists for 26 points in his sophomore campaign. The two were not alone in finding the back of the net as six others joined them with at least two tallies on the season.
Junior Christian Albrecht (Albuquerque, N.M.) has anchored a strong backline for the Cadets as he was honored with the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year award while senior Christian Hallstrom (Las Vegas, Nev.) posted a 1.16 GAA in a 13-6-2 season as he received the bulk of the time in goal for Norwich.
Scouting Lesley
Lynx sophomore Erik Johansen (West Harrison, N.Y.), who was named to the NECC All-Conference First Team this week, is dangerous atop the Lesley attack as he posted eight goals and one assist for 17 points in 15 matches to pace the offense. Fellow NECC First Teamer Jordan Santos (Middlebury, Conn.) has been strong in the middle of the field as he finished with four goals and eight assists on the year, including dishing out three helpers in a 3-0 win over Newbury in the First Round of the NECC Tournament. Junior Ryan Richardson (Santa Barbara, Calif.) finished the season with 17 points as he tallied five goals to go with his seven assists on the offensive side of the ball.
An experienced backline is led by senior Herbin Berreondo (Brighton, Mass.), who was also named to the NECC First Team, while senior Ray Cohen (Coventry, Conn.) and NECC Second Teamer Billy Baker (Sacramento, Calif.) balanced a strong unit. Goalkeeper Chase Donley (Elizabethtown, Pa.) was placed on the NECC Second Team following a season in which he finished 7-6-4 with six shutouts and a 1.32 GAA.
What's At Stake
The winner will advance to the Semifinal Round of the ECAC Championship and square off with the winner of the No. 5 Albertus Magnus (11-6-2) at No. 4 Colby-Sawyer College (11-6-2).