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Albertus Magnus Athletics

Falcons to host Norwich in GNAC Championship on Saturday

Falcons to host Norwich in GNAC Championship on Saturday
Posted: Nov 01, 2012

For the second time in the last three years, the Albertus Magnus men's soccer team will host the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Championship on Celentano Field. The 2012 title game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 with the winner earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Albertus enters the weekend match-up with a 15-3-2 overall record after earning back-to-back shutouts during tournament play. On Saturday, Oct. 27, the Falcons downed Suffolk University 2-0 thanks to the Zapata brothers as freshman Alex Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal in the eighth minute before Stephen Zapata netted a penalty kick in the 22nd minute to extend the Falcons' lead.

On Wednesday, Oct. 31, the Falcons blanked Emerson College 1-0 as Dan Dwyer (Hamden, Conn.) scored the game's lone goal to extend the Falcons' run in the postseason. With both shutouts, the Falcons now have 10 on the year, while junior goalkeeper Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) has nine of his own along with 76 saves.

Norwich used a 2-1 upset victory over top-ranked  Lasell College on Wednesday to advance to the championship game. The Cadets are 11-5-2 this season after finishing the GNAC regular season with a 6-3-1 mark in conference play. Their lone tie came in New Haven against the Falcons as the two teams battled to a scoreless tie in double overtime.

After their two wins this postseason, the Falcons are now 14-14 all-time in GNAC Tournament action, dating back to 1996. Albertus only GNAC Tournament title came during that 1996 season as teams were not offered an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. With a win on Saturday, the Falcons will go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

The Cadets have won four GNAC Tournament titles with their last championship coming in 2008 when the Cadets defeated Saint Joseph's College of Maine 2-1. Last season, the Cadets upset the top-seeded Falcons 1-0 in the semifinal round before falling to the Monks of Saint Joseph's College of Maine 4-1 in the final.