GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The Morrisville State College men’s soccer team claimed its third straight North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) regular season championship, earning the Mustangs the right to enter the seven-team conference tournament as the top seed.
The Mustangs, two-time defending NEAC champions, finished the regular season with a 12-1 conference record to top the standings with 36 points. They will now host the Final Four portion of the NEAC Championship Tournament as the No. 1 seed, with those rounds being held on Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6.
The rest of the seven-team tournament has also been set following the end of regular season play this weekend. The Penn State Abington Nittany Lions, who were the only team to defeat Morrisville, will be the second seed after garnering 31 points behind a 10-2-1 NEAC record. The Keuka College Wolves (8-2-3 NEAC) and the Penn State Berks Nittany Lions (9-4 NEAC) both tallied 27 points on the year, with the Wolves being granted the third seed after winning their head-to-head matchup earlier in the season. Berks will thus be the fourth seed.
The Wells College Express earned the fifth seed with 26 points on an 8-3-2 NEAC record. The Lancaster Bible College Chargers and the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Wildcats claimed the final two playoff spots with 24 points on 8-5 conference records, with the Chargers getting the sixth seed and Wildcats being the seventh seed after the Chargers won the head-to-head regular season matchup.
The tournament will begin with the three quarterfinal-round contests on Tuesday, November 1, where Abington will host SUNY Poly, Keuka will host Lancaster Bible, and Berks will host Wells. Each contest is set to begin at 2 p.m. All three winners will advance to the semifinals at Morrisville State on Saturday. A full tournament schedule can be found below.
Tuesday, November 1 – Quarterfinals @ Higher Seeded Team, 2 p.m.
Game 1: No. 2 Penn State Abington vs. No. 7 SUNY Poly
Game 2: No. 3 Keuka vs. No. 6 Lancaster Bible
Game 3: No. 4 Penn State Berks vs. No. 5 Wells
Saturday, November 5 – Semifinals @ Morrisville State College
Game 4: No. 1 Morrisville State vs. Winner of Game 3, 4:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2, 7 p.m.
Sunday, November 6 – Championship @ Morrisville State College
Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, Time TBD
The winner of the NEAC championship will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
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The North Eastern Athletic Conference has fourteen NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Morrisville State College, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Wells College, and Wilson College. Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D’Youville College (M Volleyball), Hilbert College (M Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Penn State Altoona (M Volleyball) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf). The North Eastern Athletic Conference has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sports of field hockey and men’s and women’s tennis.