Cortland, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Men's Soccer team begins play in the 2017 NCAA Tournament on Saturday morning on the road at #15 Cortland. Kick-off with the Red Dragons is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. with Live Video available for those who cannot attend the contest.
At A Glance: The Knights enter Saturday's contest winners of their last four outings and with a 12-7-0 overall record. The Knights have blanked their last four opponents, including a 2-0 win over Old Westbury in the Skyline Conference Championship semifinals and a 1-0 win over St. Joseph's-L.I. in the Skyline Conference Championship Final.
Junior
Joey Dolan (New Paltz, N.Y.), the 2017 Skyline Conference Offensive Player of the Year, leads the Mount Saint Mary scoring attack with a single season record 18 goals to along with a pair of assists for 38 points. Through the Skyline Conference Championship, Dolan led the Skyline Conference in goals and game winning goals and was tied for the league lead in points.
Fellow junior
Matt Fuge (Avon, Conn.) has tallied four times heading into Saturday with
Fred Stark (Hollis, N.Y.) adding three markers and 10 points. Stark and
Connor Lynch (Clifton Park, N.Y.,) are tied for the team lead in assists with four.
In goal, freshman
Tyler Rapp (East Berne, N.Y.) has started 10 games and posted a 10-2 record. He has recorded seven shutouts and holds a Skyline Conference best 0.54 goals against average to go along with an .867 save percentage and 39 stops.
All-Conference Nods: The Knights had four players earn All-Conference accolades just hours before learning their NCAA opponent. Dolan,
Nick Ciani (Sussex, N.J.) and
Tyler Rapp (East Berne, N.Y.) were named First Team All-League, with
Bobby Caronia (Ossining, N.Y.) landing on the Second Team.
Ciani was tabbed the Skyline Conference Defensive Player of the Year after appearing in 18 games and anchoring a backline that was second in the conference in opponent scoring average and produced nine shutouts, including one in each of the team's last four outings. He added three assists on the season, good for third on the team in the category.
Cortland At A Glance: The Red Dragons enter Saturday's game at 15-3-0 overall and coming off a 3-1 loss to Plattsburgh in the semifinal round of the SUNYAC Tournament.
The Red Dragons feature four players with at least 12 points on the season, led by 21 points from Cam LaVallee. He paces Cortland with five assists, while Migell Ormsby leads the way with nine goals to go along with a pair of helpers for 20 points. Jake Keller has scored seven times and assisted on four other goals, while Ma'Cain Spragling has tallied four times and helped on four goals.
In net, Connor Young has started all 18 games and holds a 0.78 goals against average. He has made 56 saves and holds a .800 save percentage to go along with nine shutouts.
Knights vs. Ranked Opponents: Cortland will be third nationally ranked opponent the Knights square off with in 2017. The Mount dropped a 5-0 road decision at then #17/6 Rutgers-Newark on September 18 and fell in a 2-1 heartbreaker at home to then #15/16 Amherst on October 18.
NCAA Tournament History: The Knights only other NCAA Tournament came during the 2013 season when the team finished with a 12-5-3 overall record. The Knights squared off with #7 York (Pa.) and dropped a hard fought 1-0 overtime decision. Tobi Iguade scored just under two minutes into the first extra period with the game winner.
Around The Regional: In addition to the Knights and Red Dragons, Middlebury and Stevens will be on hand and are scheduled to kick-off on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
What's Next: The winner of Saturday's games will meet on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
