#16 Men's Soccer Set For NCAA Second Round Showdown at #10 Southern NH
LINKS: Live Stats | Championship Program | Twitter (@MC_Athletics) | Interactive Bracket
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Fresh off the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory against Franklin Pierce on Friday night at Larkin Field, the No. 16 Merrimack men's soccer team will put its season on the line and look to defeat a 10th-ranked Southern New Hampshire squad for the first time in three tries, as the Warriors and Penmen face off in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Manchester, N.H. First whistle is set for 3 p.m.
The Warriors (15-3-2) have faced off twice already against the Penmen (17-3), with the most recent meeting coming on Nov. 4 in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Finals. Merrimack rallied to tie the game at a goal apiece with a strike early in the second half, but the Penmen put the game away with the deciding tally moments later to claim the NE-10 crown by means of a 2-1 victory.
To advance to the second round, the Warriors needed a late, dramatic score from senior back Alejandro Fuchs (Caracas, Venezuela), as the captain of the squad headed home the game-winner on a corner kick service from rookie Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) with just over five minutes to play, as Merrimack downed Franklin Pierce for the third time this season, 3-0, in Friday night's first round of the national tournament.
Senior forward Franklin Lemus Pena (Revere, Mass.), who was named the NE-10 Player of the Year two weeks ago, leads Merrimack on the offensive end of the pitch. The striker leads the team with 16 points on six goals and six helpers through 20 games this season.
Joining Lemus Pena on the All-Conference NE-10 First Team was sophomore goalkeeper Jose Silva (Northborough, Mass.), who has enjoyed remarkable success in his first season as a starter. The Northborough, Mass., native as gone 14-3-2 between the pipes with a team single-season record 11 shutouts while boasting a stellar 0.54 GAA and .884 SV%, both of which rank at the top of the NE-10 and national leader boards.
Southern New Hampshire has won five straight heading into Sunday's showdown. Senior captain Chris Tsonis leads the Penmen with 14 goals and four assists a team-best 32 points, while Jordan Branco has chipped in six goals and eight assists. Meanwhile, Mohamed Toufik, who scored the game-winner in the NE-10 Finals, has totaled seven goals and two assists. In net, Dom DiMaggio has started 18 of 20 games for the Penmen and owns a .795 save percentage and 0.50 GAA with nine shutouts.
SNHU boasts one of the top defenses in the nation, having allowed just 11 goals in 20 games and posting 10 shutouts. In the most recent NCAA statistical ranking, Southern New Hampshire is ranked 13th in shutout percentage and fourth in team goals-against average.
The winner of Sunday's game will face the winner of Sunday's other East Region semifinal between top-seeded LIU-Post and No. 4 seed UMass Lowell. The site of that game is to be determined, but is slated to be held at the highest remaining seed.
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