Men's Soccer earns late-night bid to ECAC Metro Tournament
Danbury, CT – The Sage Colleges' men's soccer team was selected to the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro Division III Tournament late Monday night. The Gators have been selected as the No. 8 seed in the tournament and will travel to face the Scarlet Raptors of top seeded Rutgers University-Camden on November 12 with a 6 p.m. start time. Sage stands at 9-7-1 on the year and with their 2014 selection, is making their fourth straight appearance in the ECAC Tournament. The Gators won the 2012 ECAC Division III Upstate Championship, while last year's team advanced to the semifinals of the Metro Tournament.
The Scarlet Raptors has been selected as the top seed in the ECAC Div. III Metro/Upstate Men's Soccer Championships. Rutgers-Camden (13-8-1) will host No. 8 seed Sage (9-7-1) Wednesday in the opening round of the eight-team tournament.
In Wednesday's other games, #2 Drew University (9-5-6) hosts #7 Alfred University (9-7-3) at 6 p.m., #4 New York University (11-6) hosts #5 William Paterson University (9-8-2) at 7 p.m. and #3 Richard Stockton College (11-5-5) entertains #6 Centenary College (12-7-1) at 7:30 p.m.
The Gators will be led into tournament play by the 2014 Skyline Conference Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Year, sophomore defender Kyle LeClerc (Beacon, NY/Beacon), as well as Skyline Conference First Team honorees, junior forward Peter Fabrykiwicz (Delancey, NY/Andes), senior forward Gustavo Trinidad (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck), and junior goalie T.J. Zehner (Beacon, NY/Beacon). Sophomore back Christian Pinti (Slate Hill, NY/Minisink Valley) was named to the Skyline Conference Second Team for his play.
LeClerc anchors a Sage defense that has allowed a league-low 22 goals this fall, including just six in regular-season league play. The Gators have registered shutouts in eight of its 17 contests this season. He has compiled four goals and one assist on the year and has helped the team rank nationally in several categories, including shutouts (0.5 per game, No. 39 nationally).
Fabrykiwicz leads the Gators with 24 points this season on 10 goals and four assists and has a pair of game-winning goals this year. He is nationally ranked in four different offensive categories, including No. 101 in points per game average with his 1.43 point per game average.
Trinidad is a three-time Skyline Conference First Team All-Star after earning league player of the year honors as a junior. This fall he has tallied 17points on four goals with a team-best nine assists. He currently ranks No. 47 in Division III in assists. Earlier this fall, he broke Sage's career point record and brings 81 points on 25 goals and 31 career assists into the ECAC Tournament. He also holds the program's career assist record, while standing No. 2 in career goals with 25. He is currently ranked No. 39 nationally in assists with his 9 assists this fall.
Zehner, who was a Skyline Conference Second Team All-Star as a rookie in 2012, continues to add to his extensive list of records as a goalie for the Gators. On his 2014 season, the Gator captain has a 1.38 GAA with 70 saves and only 22 goals allowed in 17 starts. He ranks nationally in both GAA and saves percentage (.764). He has active Gator career records for most saves (168), most wins (23), most shutouts (13.1), most appearances in goal (42) and most career starts in goal (42).
Pinti has played in 16 games this fall and has helped to anchor the 2014 Gator defense. As a rookie last season, he was the co-high scorer for the 2013 Sage rookies with three goals and two assists (8 points).
Since adding men's soccer, the Gators have now appeared in every Skyline Conference Tournament since the 2010 season and finished this season as the Skyline Conference regular-season runner-up. The Gators made their first appearance in the ECAC Tournament in 2011 and have earned berths every season since that first appearance. Kyle Clancy is in his fifth season at the helm of the program and owns a 52-34-8 career record with the Gators heading into the ECAC Tournament.
Overall on the 2014 season, Sage has outscored their foes by a 47-22 margin and has blanked eight different opponents. The Gators have combined for 43 assists and rank No. 19 in Division III and No. 33 nationally in total points as well as No. 9 in assists per game (2.53).
The Scarlet Raptors are making their seventh appearance in the ECAC tournament and their fourth under Head Coach Tim Oswald. Oswald's Raptors have never lost an ECAC playoff game, going a combined 8-0 while winning ECAC Metro titles in 2006 and 2007 and capturing the ECAC Metro/Upstate crown in 2010.
