2017 NCAA Digital Program 2017 NCAA DIII Interactive Bracket
The Emory University Men's Soccer program travels to Chicago, IL for the sectional rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament on November 17th and 18th. Both rounds will be played at Stagg Field on the campus of the University of Chicago.
The Eagles, making their third trip to the Sweet 16 and first since 2008, will battle Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday night, beginning at approximately 8:30pm eastern time. The University of Chicago, the host school for sectionals, will be opposed by Calvin College in the other Round of 16 match, starting at 6:00pm EST on Friday. The two winners will advance to the quarterfinal round which will be played on Saturday night. Game time is slated for 8:00pm EST.
Sectional Round Info
The University of Chicago athletics department will have live stats and video stream for all games during the sectional rounds, free of charge for fans not making the trip to the Windy City. Links can be found on the Emory Men's Soccer schedule page or by clicking here.
Ticket prices are as follows for fans attending the games at Stagg Field: $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens.
Emory University Eagles (14-5-1, At-Large Selection)
The Eagles continued their stay in the NCAA tournament with wins over Dickinson College and Lynchburg College in the opening rounds. Emory was led by its three-headed offensive attack featuring seniors Jason McCartney, Christian Meyer and junior Moustafa Khattab. McCartney once again found the back of the net on multiple occasions as the Eagles topped the Red Devils, 3-1, in the first round. On Sunday, Khattab scored the game-winner to propel Emory past the host Hornets, 1-0.
McCartney (29) and Khattab (20) are the first Emory teammates with at least 20-points in the same season since Andrew Natalino and Dylan Price in 2012. Meyer sits third on the team with a career-best 12 points on five goals and two assists.
Defensively, the backline of seniors Cody Gardiner, Georges Daoud and juniors Tyler Santee, Aidan Datené limited Dickinson and Lynchburg to one goal on 10 SOGs over 180 minutes. Freshman Cole Gallagher collected nine saves in the two games to tally his sixth shutout of the year.
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University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders (17-2-1, ASC Champions)
Mary Hardin-Baylor advanced to its first Sweet 16 in program history following victories over Williamette University (1-0) and No.-2 ranked Trinity (TX), 3-2. The Crusaders earned an automatic selection into the tournament after claiming their first-ever American Southwest Conference championship, defeating Texas-Tyler in the title game.
The Crusaders enter Friday's match on a six-game unbeaten streak and are led offensively by Case Carnes. The senior forward has scored in four straight contests and leads the team with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points. Senior midfielder Julio Mar ranks second on the team in goals (4) and points (11) and was the hero against Trinity in the second round, breaking a 2-2 tie late in the first half. Mary Hardin-Baylor has allowed 12 goals on the year in 20 games with 10 shutouts, ranking 17th in Division III with a 0.59 goals-against average. Junior Caleb Vandergriff was named the ASC's Defender of the Year and was a First Team All-Conference selection. Senior goalkeeper Bryce Eichhorn has compiled a 0.49 GAA through 18 games (14 GS), going 11-2 with eight clean sheets and has made 49 stops for a .860 save percentage.
Mary Hardin-Baylor is under the leadership of Brad Bankhead, who has gone 123-70-21 during his 12-year tenure. He is assisted by Ben Allen, Clay Swanks and Marek Reyes.
Friday's contest marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
University of Chicago Maroons (18-2-0, UAA Champions)
Chicago is one of four University Athletic Association schools remaining in the NCAA tournament in addition to Emory, Brandeis and Rochester. The Maroons are making their second straight trip to the Sweet 16 after taking care of business in the opening rounds against Lake Forest (6-2) and Capital (2-0).
The Maroons, 18-2 overall, are 7-1 since the Eagles handed them their first regular season loss on October 7th. Juniors Max Lopez, the UAA Most Valuable Player, and Matthew Koh, All-UAA First Team, rank first and second in the conference with 38 and 30 points, respectively. Lopez has netted a UAA-leading 17 goals while Koh has posted 10 goals and 10 assists and single-handedly led the Maroons past Capital in the second round, scoring both goals in the win. Chicago saw Nicco Capotosto and Stacy Reimann take home All-UAA First team honors as well with Andre Abedian and Dayo Adeosun named to the Second Team. Carter Romero garnered the league's Rookie of the Year award, recording 15 points on six goals and three assists.
Mike Babst guides the Maroons on the sidelines, compiling a 68-20-9 overall record in five seasons at the helm. He is joined on staff by Spencer Lewis.
The Eagles have already enjoyed one successful trip to Chicago this season, downing the Maroons, 3-0, to increase the all-time series lead to 21-8-2.
Calvin College Knights (21-0-1, MIAA Champions)
Calvin, the No.-1 ranked team in the country in both the United Soccer Coaches and D3Soccer.com national polls, earned a berth to the Round of 16 following victories over Thomas More (4-0) and John Carroll (2-0). The Knights gained an automatic bid to the tournament as the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions and own the nation's longest active unbeaten streak at 22 games.
The Knights feature the fourth-best defensive unit in Division III based on goals-against average, ranking fourth with a 0.36 GAA and only allowing eight goals all season. Calvin saw four members of its backline earn All-MIAA First Team honors with junior Trent Vegter being named the league's Most Valuable Player. Other Calvin defenders tabbed to the MIAA First Team were seniors Nate Van Ryan, Matt Hinds and Francisco Noyola. Van Ryan has made 22 starts between the posts, playing all but 8:57 minutes in goal. Van Ryan has registered 15 clean sheets and a .877 save percentage and is 21-0-1.
Calvin also boasts the highest scoring offense in the nation, averaging 3.86 goals per contest. All-MIAA First Team selections in juniors Bobby McCaw, Jacob Witte and sophomore Hunter Olson headline the offensive attack. McCaw is two points shy of 50 for the season, totaling 21 goals and six assists. Olson has tallied 39 points for the year on the strength of 14 goals and 11 assists while Witte has 33 points on 11 goals and 11 assists.
The Knights are coached Ryan Souders, who is 116-15-7 through six seasons and has guided the Knights to three straight Sweet 16's and a national runner-up finish in 2016, falling in double overtime to Tufts University in the national championship. He is assisted by Taylor Clarke and Sean Broekhuizen.
If the Eagles and Knights both were to advance to the quarterfinals, it would be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.