The Ohio Wesleyan University men’s soccer team will face Knox (Ill.) in a first-round game of the NCAA Division III tournament at 4 p.m. on Friday at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.
In Friday’s other first-round game, Calvin (Mich.) will take on Rochester (N.Y.) at 7 p.m. The advancing teams will meet in a second-round game at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Ticket prices for NCAA tournament games are $8 for adults, $5 for children and senior citizens, and $3 for student with a valid ID. There will be no re-entry, and no containers are permitted.
Ohio Wesleyan will be making its NCAA-record 42nd Division III playoff appearance and its 40th under head coach Jay Martin. But for Martin, this tournament bid was far from a given despite Ohio Wesleyan’s 14-2-2 record and national rankings of No. 2 in the D3soccer.com poll and No. 18 in the United Soccer Coaches rankings.
“I’m relieved that we got in,” said Bishop head coach Jay Martin. “I thought we deserved a bid, but you never know when committees make decisions. When Denison won the (North Coast Athletic Conference) tournament, I was a little leery about 3 NCAC teams getting in, but it worked out. It’s a tribute to the guys that we’re in the tournament and hosting for the first time in several years.”
Senior midfielder Hector Gomez leads the Bishops with 11 goals and 7 assists on the season, tied for second in the NCAC in both categories. Sophomore forward Jaggar Brooker follows with 10 goals, fourth in the league, and his total of 6 game-winning goals is tied for sixth nationally. The goalkeeping duo of sophomore Mason Taylor and senior Chase Agin has combined for a goals-against average of 0.59 this season, ranking 18th in NCAA Division III, and have teamed up for 10 shutouts.
Knox, the Midwest Conference tournament champion, has a balanced offense led by Alex White with 6 goals and an assist and Joey Dorgan with 5 goals and 2 assists and fueled by Martin Garcia with a goal and 8 assists. Nicolas Lantzendorffer leads the Midwest Conference with a goals-against average of 0.77 and 8 shutouts.
Calvin boasts a pair of double-digit scorers in Sam Twigg and Oliver Akintade, whose respective totals of 16 and 10 goals rank 2-3 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Daniel Wunder leads the MIAA with a goals-against average of 0.51 and 8 shutouts.
Rochester also brings a balanced offense into the NCAA tournament. Andrew Moglianesi has a team-high 5 goals, Sani Ponce Ocampo has scored 4 goals, and 4 different Yellowjackets have scored 3 goals apiece. In goal, Santino Lupica-Tondo has a goals-against average of 0.66 and 7 shutouts on the season, respectively third and tied for second in the UAA, which sent 5 teams to the NCAA Division III tournament.
The advancing team from Saturday’s second-round game will compete in the third round and quarterfinals, scheduled to be played on November 19-20 or 20-21 on the campus of one of the competing institutions.
