Swarthmore Hosts NCAA Sectional
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- For the second straight weekend, Swarthmore College will be the site of NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship action, hosting three sectional matches on November 22-23.
Clothier Field, located on the south end of campus in suburban Philadelphia, will again fire up the lights for NCAA men’s soccer action.
The first sectional match will take place on Saturday, November 22 at 5:00 p.m. Trinity University (Texas), with a record of 19-0-1, will take on Ohio Wesleyan (18-4-1). Host Swarthmore (17-2-2) will square off against Amherst (Mass.), owners of a 13-3-3 mark, in the second sectional semifinal; kick-off is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.
The winners of Saturday’s action will play in the sectional final on Sunday, November 23 at 6:00 p.m.
Fans can follow all the action via Live Video streaming and Live Stats. Click here for complete information.
Swarthmore, currently ranked 11th in Division III according to the latest National Soccer Coaches of America Association (NSCAA)/adidas poll, is making its fourth appearance in the national tournament and advances past the second round for the first time since 1974 (the Garnet were national runners-up in the first NCAA championship match). Swarthmore, the Centennial Conference champion, defeated Rutgers University-Camden (N.J.), 2-0, in the first round and then blanked Conference-rival Dickinson (Pa.), 1-0, to advance into the sectional round. Official team Web site.
Amherst reaches the round of 16 for the second consecutive season, having not surrendered a goal this month. The Lord Jeffs won the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship with three straight shutouts, defeated St. Lawrence (N.Y.), 1-0, in NCAA first-round action. Amherst moved into the sectional round after upsetting 11th-ranked Western New England in a penalty-kick shoot-out, 4-2. Official team Web site.
Trinity, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference champion, has established itself as a national power in recent years, appearing in 12 NCAA tournaments in the past 13 seasons. The Tigers won the national championship in 2003 and made the final in 2007, falling in penalty kicks to Middlebury (Vt.). Trinity, the top-ranked team in Division III, received a first-round bye in 2008 and advanced to the sectionals with a 2-0 win over the University of Texas-Tyler. Official team Web site.
Ohio Wesleyan, currently ranked ninth, is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament action, having earned its NCAA-record 31st bid after winning the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament championship. The Battling Bishops won the national championship in 1998 and have made two finals appearances (1990, ’92). Ohio Wesleyan enters the sectional after a 1-0 double-overtime win over Susquehanna (Pa.) in the first round, followed up by a 3-0 defeat of 20th-ranked Carnegie Mellon (Pa.). Official team Web site.
The team emerging from this weekend’s sectional is headed to Greensboro, North Carolina for the 34th annual NCAA Division III Championship. The four-team tournament will take place at Macpherson Stadium at Bryan Park on December 5-6.