GNAC Release & 2012 Tournament Bracket

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) released the 2012 men's soccer tournament bracket on Wednesday afternoon as Albertus Magnus will be the second seed in the upcoming playoffs beginning on Saturday. The No. 2 Falcons will host No. 7 Suffolk in a 1:00 p.m. contest on Celentano Field.

Albertus finished the regular season with a GNAC record of 8-1-1 for second place in the conference standings. The Falcons enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed for the second time in the last three seasons, while in 2011, the Falcons were the top seed in the playoffs. In 2012, Albertus is 7-1-2 when playing on its home field.

With a 9-1 record in conference play, Lasell College will be in the No. 1 seed as the Lasers are led by Mike Skelton who leads the league in goals scored with 14.

The Falcons, who were picked as the league's pre-season favorite, are led this year by senior Stephen Zapata (Hamden, Conn.), who currently leads the GNAC in points with 36. He also leads the GNAC and ranks tied for third in the nation with 12 assists.

Despite only posting a 4-5-1 mark in conference play, Suffolk scored 30 goals in GNAC action this season, to tie for the league-high in conference play.

Saint Joseph's College (Maine) captured the No. 3 seed with Norwich taking the No. 4 spot, respectively. The Monks of Saint Joseph's will host No. 6 Emerson on Saturday at Westerlea Field, with the winner moving on to face the winner of the Albertus/Suffolk match-up on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

Norwich will host No. 5 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) on Saturday with the winner of that contest taking on the winner of the Lasell/Mount Ida match on Tuesday, Oct. 30 as well.

The winners of both semifinal matches will play in the GNAC Finals set for Saturday, Nov. 3 at the site of the highest remaining seed in the tournament.