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Eagles to Play #6 Carnegie for Shot at UAA Title

Eagles to Play #6 Carnegie for Shot at UAA Title
Posted: Oct 31, 2012

Everything will be on the line on Saturday for the Emory University men's soccer team, as the Eagles will travel to Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, November 3rd at 5:30 PM to face the sixth-ranked Carnegie Mellon University Tartans for a shot at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Coverage
 Saturday's game will feature a live video webcast at http://athletics.cmu.edu/live and live statistics at http://www.enrollment.cmu.edu/athletics/msoccer/xlive.htm.

UAA Update
 With a 3-2-1 record in UAA play this season, Emory is currently tied with Brandeis for third in the conference, but sits just three points behind Carnegie (4-1-1) for the conference lead, and two points behind Wash U. (4-2-0) for second.  Behind the Eagles are Rochester (2-1-3), Chicago (2-3-1), NYU (2-3-1) and Case Western Reserve (0-6-0).

In addition to the Emory-Carnegie game at 5:30 PM on Saturday, Brandeis will play at NYU at 1:30 PM, Chicago will be at Wash U. at 3:30 PM, and Case will play at Rochester at 7:30 PM.

Although any tie atop the standings results in co-UAA Champions, only one team can be awarded the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.  If Emory wins, Washington U. loses, and Brandeis loses or ties, the Eagles would gain an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of the head-to-head win over the Tartans.

The Eagles will have a better idea of where they stand in the conference by the start of their game on Saturday, as a Wash U. win will eliminate the Eagles from the UAA title and automatic bid contention, and a Brandeis win will prevent the Eagles from claiming an automatic bid.  A tie by Washington would mean the Eagles' only path to an automatic berth would be a three team tiebreaker situation.  No matter what scenario plays out earlier in the day, the Eagles will need a win over Carnegie to have any shot at the UAA Championship.

If Emory, Wash U, and Carnegie all finish tied for first in the conference, Emory would need to beat Carnegie by at least two goals to get the automatic berth based on goal differential in games between conference champions, the UAA's second tie breaker. A one-goal win for Emory in this scenario would mean that the automatic bid would be determined by each team's result against the fourth-place team (which could be Brandeis, Rochester, or NYU).  In that scenario, Emory would be unlikely to secure an automatic bid.

If Emory, Brandeis and Carnegie all finished tied for first, Brandeis would claim the automatic bid.  In the case of a four-way tie, Carnegie would claim the automatic bid based on their 2-1 record against other co-champions and a win over Brandeis (which would be 2-1 against the co-champions).

Emory Eagles
 Emory is coming off a dramatic 1-0 double-overtime win at New York University last Sunday, with sophomore Michael Rheaume scoring the 'golden goal' in the 101st minute off an assist from senior co-captain Andrew Natalino.  With the win, Emory raised its season ledger to 9-6-2 for the season and to a 4-4-0 mark in games away from home.  The Eagles' offense ranks 65th in Division III with 2.35 goals per game and 71st with 40 total goals, and has been led by Natalino (12 goals and two assists) and sophomore Dylan Price (11 goals and three assists).  Defensively, Emory has allowed 24 goals for a 1.34 team GAA, including five shutouts.  Freshman goalkeeper Abe Hannigan has started each of the last 11 games, going 7-3-1 with two shutouts, a 1.28 GAA and a .634 save percentage.  The Eagles have outshot opposing teams 307-172, including a 132-82 edge in shots on goal.

The Eagles are led by head coach Sonny Travis, who is 77-26-7 during his five seasons at Emory, including three NCAA Tournament berths and a UAA Championship.  His career 371-118-44 record ranks him 14th among active Division III coaches in victories, and his .738 winning percentage is the 10th-best among active D-III coaches.  Travis will be joined by fourth-year assistant Ben Buerger, second-year goalkeeper coach Clayton Schmitt, and student assistant Dehmeh Smith.

Carnegie Mellon Tartans
 Carnegie Mellon, ranked sixth in the latest NSCAA Division III Men's Soccer Poll and eighth in the D3Soccer.com Poll, stands at 12-2-1 overall this season, including a 6-1-0 mark in home games.  Since a loss to Rochester on October 12th, The Tartans have won four in a row, and will enter Saturday's game as the top-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region.  The team's strength has been its offense, which ranks 29th in goals per game (2.73) and 65th in total goals (41).  Its attack has been led by the combination of junior Max Tassano (11 goals and five assists) and senior Ben Bryant (seventh in Division III with 11 assists).  Defensively, the team has allowed 19 goals for a 1.17 GAA, with junior Christopher Madden (1.08 GAA, .694 save percentage) seeing the majority of time in goal.  Carnegie has outshot opponents 264-134, including a 127-59 edge in shots on goal.

Carnegie is led by head coach Arron Lujan, who has a five-year record of 61-20-5 with Carnegie Mellon University.  Lujan began his career as an assistant at Virginia Wesleyan College, where he worked under Sonny Travis for two seasons.  He is assisted by Mike Piranian.

Carnegie Mellon is one of only two UAA teams that Emory has a losing record against over the history of the matchup, with the Eagles going 10-12-3 against the Tartans, including a 3-8-1 record in games played in Pittsburgh.  Last season, the Eagles dropped a 2-1 decision to Carnegie, despite a goal from Andrew Natalino off a David Garofalo assist.  Senior Alex Scott also has a career goal against the Tartans.

Emory Notes
 Emory also ranks 34th in Division III with 35 assists and 60th with 115 points… Andrew Natalino ranks 60th in Division III with 12 goals, 61st with 0.71 goals per game, 89th with 26 points and 95th with 1.53 points per game… Dylan Price ranks 84th among D-III players with 11 goals, 88th with 0.65 goals per game, and 99th with 25 points… David Garofalo is ranked 96th in Division III with 0.4 assists per game... Price has scored six game-winning goals this season, and is one shy of the school record for game-winning goals in a season… Natalino currently ranks 12th in school history with 30 goals, and is tied for 16th with 70 points… Michael Rheaume became the third different Eagle to score a 'golden goal' this season, joining Carl Credle (September 29th vs. Chicago) and Price (October 19th vs. Covenant)… The three 'golden goals' this year match a school record for the most in a season, along with the 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2007 squads... Emory outshot both of its opponents last weekend, and has now outshot the opposing team in all but one game this season.