
St. Joe's set to make First NCAA Tournament Appearance
Monks to play at Wesleyan in First Round
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The NCAA Men's Soccer Committee has announced
the 2009 DIII Tournament bracket. Fifty-nine teams advance to
national tournament play, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday,
November 12th. Saint Joseph's College (14-7-1, 7-2 GNAC) will play
at Wesleyan University (11-1-4, 6-0-3 NESCAC) in Middletown, CT on
Saturday, time TBA.
The Monks punched their ticket into the NCAA Tournament by
defeating Emerson College, 2-1, in the GNAC Championship at
Westerlea Way Field on Saturday. With the victory, St. Joe's, the
top seed in the conference tourney, obtained an automatic
qualifier, which is awarded to the Great Northeast Athletic
Conference winner, into the 2009 NCAA DIII Tournament.
Wesleyan gained entry to the NCAA playoffs as an at-large team
along with NESCAC rivals Bowdoin and Amherst. Wesleyan, as one of
the top seeds in the New England regional, will serve as a host
site for first- and second-round action. NEWMAC champion Babson
University and TCCC winner Western New England College will take
the field following the Monks-Cardinals matchup on Saturday. The
first-round winners meet on Sunday, with the winner of the matchup
heading to the sectionals in the round of 16.
Wesleyan, ranked first in New England and fourth in NCAA DIII as
of November 2nd, fell to Middlebury College in the NESCAC
semifinals, 2-0, on Saturday.
For the Saint Joseph's Men's Soccer program, the GNAC title and
subsequent trip to the NCAA's are both first-time occurrences. The
Monks have advanced to the conference tournament following each of
the three seasons the program has been a member of the Great
Northeast Athletic Conference. St. Joe's earned the #7 seed in
2007, the #3 seed, and fell to Norwich in the title bout, in 2008
and the top seed this fall.
Thirty-nine conferences were awarded automatic qualification for
the 2009 championship. Three teams were selected from Pool B, which
consists of independent institutions, and institutions that are
members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for
automatic qualification. The final 17 berths were reserved for Pool
C, which are institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences
that are not the conference champion and any remaining Pool B
teams.
Five two-team, first-round games will be conducted November 12
with the winners advancing to play five teams which received
first-round byes Saturday, November 15. Eleven sites will host four
teams for first- and second-round competition Friday-Saturday or
Saturday-Sunday, November 13-14 or 14-15. Second-round winners will
advance to one of four sectional sites November 20-21 or 21-22.
Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the finals December
4-5. All games, except the finals, will be played on the campuses
of competing institutions. Blossom Sports Stadium, in San Antonio,
Texas, will be the site of this year's semifinals/final.
Courtesy: St. Joseph's (Maine) Athletic Communications




























