NEWTON, Mass. – Second seeded Mount Ida College will host cross-town rival Lasell College on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer quarterfinals, as the Mustangs will host their first conference tournament game since 2008.
HOW THEY GOT THERE
The Mustangs (11-5-1, 7-1-1 GNAC) ripped off a six-game win streak during the season and went unbeaten in their first five GNAC tilts to put themselves in the driver's seat in conference play. Along the way, they knocked off defending champions Johnson & Wales in overtime, and also beat Rivier in a second extra period.
Mount Ida has won 9 games by one goal this year, and has a 3-1-1 record in overtime this season. The 2015 squad has reached double-digit wins as a team for the first time since 2004, while also securing the most conference wins in program history.
The Mustangs clinched a top-four seed with a 3-2 overtime win over Norwich on October 21st, and then beat Lasell 2-1 on Senior Day to ensure themselves of the #2 seed. This year marks the fifth straight season that Mount Ida has qualified for the GNAC tournament, and they collected their first postseason win since 2008 last year when they defeated Albertus Magnus on the road to reach the semifinals, where they fell 1-0 at Johnson & Wales.
The #7 seed Lasers (3-12, 3-6 GNAC) struggled to find their offensive power this year, as they have only scored in five of their 15 contests. They came on stronger as October rolled around, beating Rivier 1-0 in double overtime and then knocking off Saint Joseph's (ME) 2-0 to ensure that they would qualify for the tournament for the ninth consecutive season, an occurrence that has happened every year since they joined the GNAC in 2007. The Lasers battled to a respectable 1-0 defeat at No. 12 Brandeis in their final regular season game of the year on Tuesday.
HEAD TO HEAD
Separated by just 6.7 miles, the Mustangs and Lasers have a long history against each other, playing side by side in both the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) and, since 2007, the GNAC. Lasell holds a 15-7-2 advantage in the all-time series, with Mount Ida's win earlier this year the first for the Mustangs since 2011.
While members of the NAC, the Mustangs were 3-0-1 in tournament games against Lasell and won a penalty kick shootout in the 2005 championship game over the Lasers to earn the program's only trip to the NCAA tournament.
It was Lasell that advanced on penalty kicks in the 2007 GNAC tournament after a 2-2 draw, with the Lasers winning both of the other two GNAC postseason meetings, 6-0 in 2009 and 1-0 in 2012, both in the quarterfinal round and both at Lasell, as this year's meeting will be the only postseason tilt between the teams at Mount Ida's campus besides the first ever in the 1999 NAC Championship.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mount Ida has benefitted from a variety of different goal scorers this year, including an impressive showing from their freshman class, highlighted by leading scorer Juan Brenes (Santo Domingo, D.R.), who has nine goals this year, tied for fourth in the conference, and two game-winners. Fellow freshmen Nick Vreeland (Berlin, Conn.) and Alexi Flores (Central Falls, R.I.) each have two game-winning goals as well, as during the win streak, four different freshmen scored consecutive game-winning goals.
Flores, who has scored four times, and freshman Jordain Williams (Colchester, Vt.) have combined for ten assists this year, and their playmaking up front have been fun to watch for Mustangs fans.
Not to be forgotten is forward Carlos Martinez (Chelsea, Mass.) who has scored six goals and two assists as he plays in his senior season. Senior Luke Pugsley (Milton, Mass.) has played well at the back and pushing forward and scored a decisive penalty kick late in a win over Lesley, this year, while sophomore Cody Seel (Petersburg, N.Y.) has worked his way into more minutes up front with two goals and an assist this year.
The midfield and back-line continues to be anchored by juniors Shawn Bernardo (Peabody, Mass.), JT Yager (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) and Tyler Grothusen (Ramsey, N.J.).
Sophomore Riley Ford (Guilderland, N.Y.) has made 75 saves this year in net and has posted a goals against average of 1.42. Ford was named GNAC Goalie of the Week last week while collecting his eighth and ninth wins of the year.
The only Laser with multiple goals this year is senior Conor Fitzgerald (Marshfield, Mass.), who has three markers on the season, two of which are game-winners. Stephen Blood (Windsor, Conn.), Nick Liquori (Westfield, Mass.), and Kenan Omerbasic (Windsor Locks, Conn.) each have a goal this year as well, with Liquori also adding an assist.
Between the pipes, senior Miguel Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela) has started all 15 games for the Lasers and has recorded 94 saves while posting a goals against average of 1.69. Colmenares brings a veteran presence to the Lasers defensive unit, and is finishing off a career of being the four-year starter, with this Sunday expected to be his 75th game played as a Laser.
HOW TO WATCH
Saturday's quarterfinal matchup will have a live video feed and live stats and you can watch the game online and follow all stats at the following links.
Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/mountida/
Live Stats: http://www.mountidamustangs.com/sports/msoc/2015-16/boxscores/20151101_4pcs.xml
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals - Sunday, November 1
Game 1: #8 Suffolk at #1 Johnson & Wales – 1:00 p.m.
Game 2: #5 Emmanuel at #4 Norwich - TBD
Game 3: #6 Albertus Magnus at #3 Saint Joseph's (Maine) – TBD
Game 4: #7 Lasell at #2 Mount Ida - 1:00 p.m.
Semifinals - Wednesday, November 4
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
Championship - Saturday, November 7
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner