Men's Soccer to Face Castleton State in ECAC Semifinals on Saturday

Photo by Ron Waite

Posted: Nov 11, 2011

The Albertus Magnus men's soccer team will head to Brandeis University this weekend for the ECAC New England Tournament semifinals, which are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12. The winners from the two semifinal matches will play in the final on Sunday afternoon.

Albertus will now take on the Spartans at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, while No. 1 Brandeis will host No. 5 Norwich at noon.

After a 3-2 win over No. 7 Endicott College on Wednesday, Albertus advances to the semifinals where the Falcons will face Castleton State College. Wednesday's victory over the Gulls marked the Falcons' first-ever ECAC Tournament win.

No. 3 Castleton State defeated Worcester State University 2-1 in double overtime to earn the right to play in the semifinals.

Brandeis downed Southern Vermont 2-0 on Wednesday night to advance, while Norwich upended UMass Boston 3-1 to move on in tournament play. Norwich was the last team to defeat Albertus as they edged the Falcons 1-0 in the GNAC Tournament semifinals.

The Falcons enter the weekend with a 16-3-1 overall showing on the year after setting a program record on Wednesday in wins in a single season. The Falcons have limited their opponents to just 15 goals this season, while holding them to 11.4 shots per contest.

Castleton enters the match with a 13-6-2 record after going 7-1-1 in North Atlantic Conference play during the regular season. The Spartans are led by Trevor Kotrady with 14 goals and two assists for a team-high 30 points. Nate Koenemann is 13-6-2 on the year in net for the Spartans as he has posted five shutouts and 88 saves.

On the year, Castleton has outscored its opponents 53-25 and average 23.7 shots per game.