Newburgh, N.Y. – The Top-Seeded Mount Saint Mary College Men's Soccer team opens play in the 2017 Skyline Conference Championship on Wednesday with a semifinal match against fifth seeded Old Westbury. Kick-off at Kaplan Field is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with Live Stats available for those who cannot attend.
 
At A Glance: The Knights enter Wednesday's semifinal with a 10-7 overall record and winners of their last two regular season contests. The Mount's only conference loss came at the hands of Old Westbury, a 2-1 double overtime defeat, on the road on October 7.
 
Junior Joey Dolan (New Paltz, N.Y.) is having a standout season for the Knights, leading the team with 17 goals and 35 points. He set the program's all-time goals record in a road win at Farmingdale State and with a hat trick at St. Joseph's-L.I. on October 21, equaled the program's single season goals mark with 17.
 
Classmate Matt Fuge (Avon, Conn.) is second on the team with three goals with Fred Stark (Hollis, N.Y.) and Connor Lynch (Clifton Park, N.Y.) leading the team with four assists apiece. Stark is second on the squad with eight points, adding a pair of goals, followed by Fuge with seven.
 
Entering Wednesday's contest, Dolan is the Skyline Conference leader in goals and game winning goals (7) and ranks third in total points. Stark and Lynch are in a tie for eighth in the league in total assists entering play on Wednesday.
 
In goal, the Knights have used four keepers with Tyler Rapp (East Berne, N.Y.) and Jakup Myrtja (Newburgh, N.Y.) seeing the most action. Rapp has played 812 minutes and has stopped 30 shots to go along with an .833 save percentage, a 0.66 goals against average and five shutouts. Rapp enters Wednesday as the league's leader in goals against average. Myrtja has seen time in 662 minutes as a rookie and made a team-high 37 saves.
 
Last Time Out: The Knights secured the top seed in the conference championship with a 1-0 home win over Purchase on October 25. Joseph Mesoraca (Oceanside, N.Y.) scored his second game winning goal of the season in the 28^th minute and Rapp finished with two saves in his fifth shutout of the season.
 
Previewing The Panthers: Old Westbury is coming off a 3-0 upset win at Maritime in the First Round to push its overall record to 10-5-3 on the season. The Panthers have won their last three outings and are outscoring opponents 15-1 over that stretch.
 
Jorey Garcia, a four-time Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week winner, leads the Panthers with 16 goals, six assists and 38 points. He is just one marker behind Dolan for the league lead and is tops in the conference in points.
 
Alexander Routledge is second on the team with five goals and 13 points and Ronald Monge rounds out a trio of players with at least 10 points on the season with four goals and a pair of helpers.
 
Mike Warren has started all 18 games in goal to date for Old Westbury and enters Wednesday's contest with an .821 save percentage, a 1.01 goals against average, 78 saves and four shutouts. Warren currently stands fourth in the conference in total saves, third in goals against average and second in save percentage.
 
Regular Season Matchup: The Panthers handed the Knights their only loss to a conference opponent in 2017 with a 2-1 double overtime win on their home field on October 7. Routledge opened the scoring for Old Westbury late in the first half before Dolan scored late in regulation time to even the game at 1-1. Garcia eventually won the game for Old Westbury in the 103^rd minute. Rapp made five saves in the game for the Knights with Warren earning the win without a stop.
 
Championship History: Since 2007, the Mount has qualified for the Skyline Conference Championship seven times and advanced to the championship final in both 2012 and 2013. The Knights claimed the conference crown in 2013 with a 2-1 win over Farmingdale State.
 
Since the 2007 season, the Knights and Panthers have yet to meet in the Skyline Conference Championship.
 
What's At Stake: The winner of Wednesday's game will square-off with the winner of the College of Mount Saint Vincent and St. Joseph's-L.I. semifinal on Saturday for a chance to represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament.