2015 Soccer National Championships Preview

2015 Soccer National Championships Preview
October 30, 2015

Men’s Soccer

#1 Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse (10-1)

  • The number one seeded Bobcats defeated University of Maine Fort Kent in an early September match with a final score of 1-0.
  • Freshmen, Zino Zampach, leads the team with six goals on the year; followed by Erickson Alves who has netted five goals.
  • The Bobcats were a semifinalist in the 2014 National Championship, suffering a tough loss to the eventual National Champion WVU Tech.

#2 University of Maine Fort Kent (18-2)

  • The 2014 finalist will look to add another national championship trophy to their case. University of Maine Fort Kent last won the Men’s Soccer National Championship in 2010.
  • Stephen Al-Sayed and Stuart Conway both have 13 assists this season to rank them in a three-way tie for third place in the association.
  • Bill Ashby is entering his ninth season coach of the Bengals where he has over 140 victories. 
  • Ben Kluvers returns as the 2014 USCAA Men’s Soccer Player of the Year.

#3 Florida College (12-4)

  • The Falcons are making their first appearance in the national tournament since 2011.
  • Florida College has a 1-1 record against USCAA teams and have an impressive home record of 7-1 on the season.
  • Senior, Tanner Richardson, leads the team with 16 goals and also has added four assists to bring his point total on the year to 36. 

#4 Berkeley College-NY (14-5)

  • The Knights will travel to Asheville, North Carolina as the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Conference Champions.
  • Berkeley College-New York has wins over SUNY Delhi and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences already this season.
  • The Knights were a semifinalist in the 2013 national tournament.

#5 Concordia College Alabama (9-5)

  • The Hornets lost in the semifinals in 2014 to the University of Maine Fort Kent.
  • Concordia College of Alabama is making their third trip to the national championships in the last five years.
  • Sophomore striker, Stanley Benjamin, leads the team with 15 goals and 8 assists for 38 points for the year. Benjamin is ranked as 11th in the nation in total points.

#6 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (11-5)

  • The Panthers did not lose a game at home this year and have wins over fellow USCAA tournament attendees SUNY Delhi and NHTI. Both of whom they may face off against in the semifinals.
  • Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is first in the association in shutouts with seven thus far on the year.

#7 NHTI (9-4-2)

  • NHTI has not lost a game on the road this season and will try to keep that momentum going in the national tournament.
  • NHTI won the Yankee Conference tournament, defeating number eight seed College of St. Joseph’s Vermont.   
  • The Lynx will take on the winner of the Penn State University Athletic Conference championship game, which will take place Sunday, November 1, 2015.

#8 College of St. Joseph’s-Vermont (10-6-1)

  • In their three games against NHTI this season they have outscored the Lynx 5-4.
  • College of St. Joseph’s Vermont’s record in the Yankee Conference was 7-1.
  • Dominick Simpson a senior forward has scored 18 goals to place him in 8th in the USCAA.

#9 SUNY Delhi (10-6-1)

  • The SUNY Delhi Broncos are coming in having won 4 of their last 6 matches and have a record of 3-1-1 on the road.
  • Junior midfielder, Trevor Holdridge, has started all but two games this season and scored a total of 12 goal. He has scored multiple goal in four games this season.
  • They have faced four teams that will be in attendance at this years’ national championship.

#10 Penn State Beaver or Greater Allegheny

  • Penn State Beaver has won five of their last six matches.
  • Penn State Greater Allegheny’s top goal scorer is Ricardo Dip, who has scored 21 goals this season.

The Penn State University Athletic Conference championship game will be played on Sunday, November 1st.

 

Bracket



Women’s Soccer

#1 University of Maine Fort Kent (17-2)

  • The number one seeded and defending national champion Bengals from Fort Kent have the third highest goal scorer this year in Katherine Ferland. She has scored 22 goals in just 17 matches and 5has set up her teammates for 10 goals this season.
  • Not only are the Bengals strong going forward but they are just as strong on the back line as they have the most shutouts in the association with nine.
  • They return three USCAA First Team All-Americans in Katherine Ferland, Yosselin Berrueco, and Brianna Mills. Ferland was the 2014 Women’s Soccer Player of the Year.

#2 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (12-3-1)

  • The two top USCAA women’s soccer goal scorers, Katie Benson (27) and Erin Tersegno (26), will lead the Panthers in this year tournament. Tersegno is also second in assists with 13 on the year.
  • The Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions defeated SUNY ESF in kicks from the mark 5-4.
  • The Panthers are familiar with several teams in this year’s tournament as they have faced Bryant & Stratton Syracuse, SUNY ESF, and University of Maine Fort Kent

#3 SUNY ESF (10-1-2)

  • The Mighty Oaks from SUNY ESF are 4-1-1 in their last six matches leading up to the tournament. Strong defense over the course of the season has them ranked sixth in the USCAA in shutouts with five.
  • 2013 USCAA First Team All-American, junior Kiki Hilmer and junior Heather Carl, will lead SUNY ESF into this years’ tournament.
  • SUNY ESF has several big wins this season that have earned them the third seed. Those wins include Bryant & Stratton Syracuse and Alfred State who will be in attendance.

#4 Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse (9-3)

  • Bryant & Stratton’s leading goal scorer, Adela Racic, has 20 goals on the season which ranks her fifth in the USCAA.
  • The Bobcats have won their past four games coming into the tournament. They have faced Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences twice this year with each team winning once.
  • Junior goalkeeper, Megan Hagadorn, has 86 saves on the season and will look to add more at the tournament.

#5 Alfred State College (8-7-1)

  • The Pioneers from Alfred State College will take on Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse in the first round of the tournament. The two teams met in early October with Alfred State getting the win in a close 3-2 game.
  • Striker, Haley Russell, leads the team with eight goals on the season. Keri Teufel and Emily Wolf both have five assists this year and will look to add to their total as the tournament progresses.

#6 Illinois Institute of Technology (8-5-4)

  • The Scarlet Hawks are making their first appearance in the USCAA Soccer National Championship.
  • Roxanne Myers leads the nation in shutouts with six this season and has made 96 saves. She is averaging a .88 goal against average per game.
  • Adrianna Maron, a senior, leads the team on goals this year with 13. The Scarlet Hawks are averaging two goals a game.

#7 Southern Maine Community College (10-1-2)

  • The Seawolves from South Portland, Maine have won five of their last six matches prior to the tournament. In the past six games they have given up five goals and scored 22.
  • Their leading goal scorers are freshmen, Hannah Fields (12) and Kym Hendrix (10).
  • Hendrix has scored four game-winning goals on the season.

#8 Warren Wilson College (5-3-1)

  • The hosts for this years’ national championship are led by senior forward, Bianca Canizio, who has tallied two hat-tricks this season. Canizio was also a 2013 USCAA First Team All-American.
  • Senior, Clare Williams, has three shutouts this season and 34 saves.
  • The Owls have won three of their last five matches and will look to use their home crowd to propel them late into the tournament.

#9 University of Maine-Machias (11-4-4)

  • The Clippers have scored over 60 goals this campaign which ranks them third in the association and they average almost 3.5 goals per game.
  • University of Maine Machias has posted a record of 7-3-3 against USCAA teams this season.
  • Brooklynne Lewis, a sophomore striker, leads the team with 16 of their 60 goals. Lewis has also started all of their games except for one.

#10 Carlow University (6-8)

  • Sophomore, Jess Horgan, was a USCAA Second Team All-American last year and helps anchor the Celtic back line.
  • With a young squad, head coach Marcus Pollidore will hope his team gains valuable experience in this years’ tournament.
  • Kristina Wallace, a freshman, leads the Celtics in goals with six while Breanna Wood is not far behind with five goals and three assists.

 

Bracket