CENTERVILLE, Mass. – Mount Ida College will continue their exciting 2013 men's soccer season after the Mustangs were selected to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Championship, marking just the second postseason appearance in program history.
The Mustangs will be the #6 seed in the seven-team bracket, and will open their tournament on Wednesday when they travel to Worcester State University to play the third seeded Lancers.
Mount Ida has compiled a record of 8-7-3 this year, making this the first year that Mount Ida has had a winning record since the 2008 season. The Mustangs reached the quarterfinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament before suffering a 1-0 loss to Norwich in Northfield, Vermont.
"This team has worked tremendously hard this year and I think the ECAC bid is a bit of recognition for them. I think they deserve it," said GNAC men's soccer Coach of the Year Joe Campbell. "It's exciting and hopefully it's a stepping stone of future progress that we're making."
Campbell noted that a result in the ECAC tournament would help the team end the season on a more positive note after the disappointment in Norwich, but admitted that the Mustangs have a tough task ahead of them.
"I think Worcester State is a quality opponent, but you never know what's going to happen in a tournament like this. You need to get some luck, and you need to score some goals to get a result here."
Worcester State (11-4-4) looks for a chance to end the season on a high note themselves after the Lancers captured this year's Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) regular season title, but fell to Bridgewater State, 1-0, in the championship game.
The rest of the bracket includes two of Mount Ida's fellow competitors in the GNAC in Norwich, who fell in the semifinals of the conference tournament, and Lasell, who beat Norwich and then bowed out on their home turf to Johnson & Wales on penalty kicks in the championship game.
The Pride of Springfield College earned the top seed, a first-round bye and the right to host the semifinals and championship of the ECAC tournament. #2 Lasell will host seventh-seeded Lesley on Wednesday at 1:30 PM and fourth-seeded Norwich will entertain #5 Colby-Sawyer.
The winner of Mount Ida's quarterfinal matchup will play the winner of the Lasell-Lesley matchup on Saturday at Springfield at 2:30 PM. The championship will be on Sunday at 12 PM.
"This was a really strong conference this year, and that shows in the fact that three teams got bids to this tournament," said Campbell of the GNAC. "There are a lot of good players and coaches and it made for a lot of good teams, and I think it's great for the conference."
The Lancers have made two ECAC Tournament appearances in 2007 and 2011 and carry a 1-2 record all-time. The lone win was a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Norwich at home during the 2007 season.
The Mustang's other appearance in a tournament outside of the conference came in 2005 when Mount Ida won the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) and reached the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
First Round – Wednesday, November 13th
No. 7 Lesley at No. 2 Lasell, 1:30 p.m.
No. 6 Mt. Ida at No. 3 Worcester State, 7:00 p.m.
No. 5 Colby-Sawyer at No. 4 Norwich, 7:00 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, November 16th at Springfield College
No. 1 Springfield vs. Winner of No. 5 Colby-Sawyer / No. 4 Norwich, 12:00 p.m.
Winner of No. 2 Lasell / No. 7 Lesley vs. Winner of No. 6 Mt. Ida / No. 3 Worcester State, 2:30 p.m.
Championship – Sunday, November 17th at Springfield College
Two Semifinal Winners, 12:00 p.m.