AMCC MEN'S SOCCER TEAMS SET SIGHTS ON CONFERENCE TITLE

The AMCC men's soccer championship tournament kicks off this weekend as #6 La Roche College travels to #3 Mount Aloysius College and #5 D'Youville College travels to #4 Franciscan University. #1 Penn State Behrend and #2 Medaille College each receieved first round byes.

Top-seed and host Penn State Behrend enters the tournament with a 8-0-1 record. The Lions' offense runs through a balanced attack, as forward Logan Brinsky and Dakota Lange have each recorded six goals on the season, while defender Ryan Maurer has chipped in with five. Forward Richard Blanchard has helped his team's cause by adding eight assists on the year. In goal, senior Chris Ralph, the reigning AMCC Defensive Player of the Year, ranks second in the conference with 10 goals against and a 0.66 goals-against-average, while recording an .825 save percentage.

#2 Medaille comes to the tournament with a 7-1-1 conference mark. The Mavs boast the top goal-scorer in the conference, midfielder Lachlan Beever, who has recorded 18 goals this season. Fellow midfielder Mitchell Ali is tops in the AMCC with nine assists and second with 13 goals. Goalkeeper Jonny Pitts ranks second in the conference with an .831 save percentage and is third with his 12 goals-against and 0.77 goals-against-average.

Mount Aloysius has earned the #3 seed with a 7-2 record. Forward Joshua Devlin leads the Mountie offense, and ranks third in the conference with 10 goals, while also adding seven assists. Forward Erik Johansson's nine goals is good for fourth in the conferencce, while Pau Aran has recorded eight assists. Mountie goalkeeper James Eyre leads the AMCC with an .833 save percentage, and his nine goals-against and 0.65 goals-against-average are also tops in the league.

With a 6-3 record, Franciscan enters the tournament as the #4 seed. Midfielder Sebastian Koehler leads the Baron offense with eight goals, while midfielder JP Bobak is tied for sixth in the league with seven helpers. Goalkeeper Brian Gaughan is fourth in the conference with an .814 save percentage and fourth with a 1.14 goals-against-average. 

With a 4-4-1 record is #5 D'Youville, which is led by forward Hunter Sherman's seven goals. In goal, Kyle Dick has made an AMCC third-best 89 saves and has recorded an .802 save percentage. He has conceded 22 goals and carries a 1.69 goals-against-average.

La Roche, also with a 4-4-1 record, rounds out the tournament as the #6 seed. Redhawk midfielder Firas Abduljawad leads the offense with eight goals, while also leading his team with six assists. Goalkeeper Austin Gorman ranks fifth in the AMCC with 84 saves. 

First round games will be played on Saturday, October 27, with the top two seeds receiving byes. The semifinals will take place on Wednesday, October 31, with the championship game on Saturday, November 3.  The AMCC champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, with the national championship to be played at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro on November 30-December 1.

Please see the AMCC Fall Championship Page for more details.