After winning the AMCC Tournament title on Saturday, the Penn State Behrend men's soccer team will now have their sights set on the First Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament.
Penn State Behrend will head to John Carroll in University Heights, Ohio for a First Round matchup with Lycoming College. Tentatively, Behrend's game with Lycoming has been scheduled for Saturday, November 10 at 8:30 p.m.
The Behrend Lions stand 14-3-2 this season and have won eight straight games heading into the NCAA Tournament. PSB won both the AMCC regular-season and AMCC Tournament titles this season and will be making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and its first since 2016.
The Behrend Lions have outscored their opponents 56-13 this season and have completed 11 shutouts. Senior goalkeeper Chris Ralph has a 13-3-2 record in goal this season. His .809 save percentage and 0.75 goals against average rank 1st in the AMCC.
Offensively, seniors Ryan Maurer, Dakota Lange and freshman Logan Brinsky have each scored eight goals. Maurer and Lange both earned AMCC All-Tournament Team honors this past weekend. Sophomore Richard Blanchard led the AMCC with nine assists this season and also added three goals. He scored the game-winning goal in the 76th minute against Medaille in the AMCC Tournament Championship Game on Saturday and was named the AMCC All-Tournament Team. Defenders Nick Schwarzel and Andrew Mastovich have helped anchor a defense that has allowed just 13 goals this season.
The Lycoming College Warriors are members of the Middle Athletic Conference and have posted a record of 15-3-2. The Warriors fell to No. 1 Messiah in a penalty shootout in the MAC title game this past weekend following a scoreless tie in regulation and received an at-large bid to this year's NCAA Tournament. Colin Wieand leads the team with six goals and 13 points. Chris Solecki has posted a 14-3-2 record in goal and has an .847 save percentage. Solecki also has a goals against average of 0.69.
These two teams have met just one time prior to this week's first round matchup, with Lycoming winning the only matchup in 1998 by 1-0 final score.
In addition to the Behrend men's soccer team playing in the NCAA tournament, Medaille College and Franciscan University's seasons will also continue as both teams have been selected to the 2018 ECAC Tournament. The Mavericks will face Manhattanville College, while the Barons will face Stevenson University in first-round games on Saturday.