Men’s Soccer set for NCAA Tournament battle versus Post University

Dancing Again:

The Lock Haven University men’s soccer team secured an at large bid to the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Tournament on Monday (Nov. 15) night by way of the No. 8 seed in the Super Region 1.

Lock Haven and Post will meet in Rindge, New Hampshire at host and No. 1 seed in the region Franklin & Pierce University on Thursday (Nov. 18) at 3:00 p.m. in the eight versus nine matchup.

The Bald Eagles fly into the NCAA tournament boasting a 13-3-2 overall record and a 10-1-1 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) mark. Lock Haven claimed the regular season PSAC Eastern Division championship, and the 13 wins for the Bald Eagles mark the most since the 2007 season.

For LHU, it is the Bald Eagles first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2006, and an opponent in Post University which The Haven has never faced in its storied history.

Know the Opponent:

The Eagles of Post University captured the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) title on an overtime goal from Alvaro Sanchez on Sunday.

Post notched an impressive 12-5-1 record and a 9-2-0 conference mark on their way to a third CACC crown in the last four years. The Eagles ride a ten-game winning streak into Thursday’s first round battle.

Sanchez paces the Eagles in goals with 13 this year and was one of four Post players to land on the All-CACC First Team. Midfielder Sergio Diaz earned his fourth all-conference nod in 2021 and was the Player of the Year in 2018. The senior midfielder leads all of Division II with 20 assists.

Defensively, Andrea Baleotto earned first-team honors for the second time in his career, as he anchored an Eagle backline which allowed 25 goals in 2021. Goalkeeper David Mollenthiel started 11 games for Post and tallied an impressive 0.76 goals against average and a .789 save percentage.

Bald Eagle Notes:

Lock Haven reenters the NCAA Tournament field for the first time in 15 years. The Bald Eagles have taken home three NCAA Championships in their history including two from Division III. The most recent title for LHU came in 1980 when Lock Haven defeated Florida International University 1-0 to claim the Division II crown on the heels of a 21-0 undefeated season.

Last week, LHU took home some major awards from the PSAC office. Beckham Sibiski was named the Player of the Year in the Eastern Division, Samuel Hershey earned East Rookie of the Year and head coach Patrick Long was honored as Eastern Division Coach of the Year.

The Bald Eagles also placed a total of seven players across the all-conference teams. For the full release click here:

Hershey leads the Bald Eagles and is second in the PSAC in goals with 13. Andrea DiSomma and Sibiski have both notched seven goals each. LHU’s high-flying offense ranks second in the conference with 43 total goals this season.

Sibiski leads all PSAC players and ranks fourth in all of Division II with 12 assists and Hershey trails him with eight, which is good enough to tie him for fourth place in the conference. As a team the Bald Eagles rank second in the PSAC with 38 assists.

LHU’s goalkeeper Aitor Ruiz de Eguilaz (Euskadi, Spain/Koldo Mitxelena (Robert Morris)) ranks fifth in the conference in save percentage (.747) and total saves (59). The junior has also been named the PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week an impressive three times this season.

Chase Tackett (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and Dean Lewis (Belfast, Northern Ireland/Model Boys School) headline the LHU back four which ranks fifth in the conference with 22 goals allowed.

NCAA Tournament Field:

Franklin & Pierce grabbed the number one seed in Super Region 1 and will play the winner of the Bald Eagles and Post on Saturday (Nov. 20) at 3:00 p.m. Young Harris has been ranked No. 1 by the United Soccer Coaches poll the past two weeks and locked up the No. 1 seed in Super Region 2. The University of Indianapolis claimed Region 3’s No. 1 spot and Cal State LA rounded out the one seeds in Super Region 4.

Also of note Millersville and Gannon meet as the four and five seeds in Super Region 1 in a rematch of Sunday’s PSAC Championship, which Millersville won 2-0.