Men's Sectional Previews: Northeast

By Jim Naprstek

Third Round - Saturday, Nov. 23

Quarterfinals - Sunday, Nov. 24

Sectional Final, 5:00 pm ET

How they reached the Sweet 16

Rutgers-Camden: NJAC Automatic Berth (AQ) | 1st Rnd: bye | 2nd Rnd: W4-0 Lycoming (H)

York (Pa.): CAC Automatic Berth (AQ) | 1st Rnd: W1-0(ot) Mt. St. Mary (N) | 2nd Rnd: W2-1(ot) Stevens (A)

Montclair St.: Pool C at-large berth | 1st Rnd: T1-1(2ot-pks) Misericordia (N) | 2nd Rnd: W1-0 Carnegie Mellon (A)

Rochester: UAA Automatic Berth (AQ) | 1st Rnd: W2-0 SUNYIT (H) | 2nd Rnd: W3-0 Oberlin (H)

2013 Statistical Overview

Rutgers-Camden: 20-0-2 (.955) | 2.71 GSA, 0.62 GAA (+2.09) | Avg. D-III OWP: .565 | Last Ten: 9-0-1

York (Pa.): 19-2-1 (.886) | 1.92 GSA, 0.49 GAA (+1.43) | Avg. D-III OWP: .582 | Last Ten: 8-1-1

Montclair St.: 16-3-3 (.795) | 3.00 GSA, 1.06 GAA (+1.94) | Avg. D-III OWP: .573 | Last Ten: 7-1-2

Rochester: 15-2-2 (.842) | 2.78 GSA, 0.57 GAA (+2.21) | Avg. D-III OWP: .555 | Last Ten: 8-1-1

Rutgers-Camden Season Review

The Scarlet Raptors are one of three teams remaining in the tournament with 20 wins this season. They’ve put their name in the hat multiple times this season as being worthy of the number one ranking. With the exception of two draws, one to TCNJ (1-1) and one to Montclair State (0-0), they’ve been perfect. In their rematch with TCNJ in the NJAC tournament, Rutgers-Camden cruised to a 4-1 win. The Scarlet Raptors were one of three teams in this year’s tournament to receive a first round bye. They hosted Lycoming in the second round and defeated them 4-0.

Posting a +47 goal margin, Rutgers-Camden is led by sophomore Mike Ryan, who has 20 goals and four assists. Senior Mitch Grotti is second on the points list with seven goals and 10 assists. Senior Mike Randall has been the man in between the pipes since day one, starting all 22 games. He’s surrendered 14 goals on the year, good for a 0.62 GAA and 12 shutouts.

York (Pa.) Season Review

York has put together another impressive season, entering the weekend at 19-2-1 after a first round win over Mount St. Mary (1-0) and a second round win over Stevens (2-1). Back in September, the Spartans knocked off then top-ranked Messiah College, winning 1-0. They had a late season slip-up against Susquehanna, but have since a seven game unbeaten streak.

The Spartans utilize a balanced offensive attack with 15 different players scoring goals and 17 total who have registered points. Leading the team is sophomore Brendan Saberton who has scored nine goals and added three assists. Senior Jake Hower is right on his tail, as he has totaled seven goals and eight assists to lead the team in points. Junior Brad Schmidt has assumed the goalkeeper duties, going 18-2-1 on the year and posting a 0.54 GAA.

Montclair St. Season Review

The second NJAC team in this section is Montclair State, who advances to the sectional round after knocking off Misericordia on penalty kicks and defeating Carnegie Mellon 1-0. The Red Hawks started their season on a seven game winning streak before falling to Messiah 3-1. In the regular season, Montclair State was one of two teams to draw against Rutgers-Camden.

Brian Cullen leads the offense with 11 goals and four assists. The junior has scored three game-winners which is tied for the team lead. On the scoring leaderboard, he’s joined by sophomore Lucas Terci who’s tallied 10 goals and 17 assists. In goal, five different goalkeepers have appeared at different times this season. So far in the NCAA Tournament, junior Kevin Lynch has made two appearances, one as a starter in their second round win over Carnegie Mellon, and once when the match went to penalties against Misericordia. In that game, it was Matthew Deziel who made the start who is listed on their roster as a defender.

Rochester Season Review

Hailing from the ever-competitive UAA, the Rochester Yellowjackets make their first return to the sectional round since 2009. That season they were knocked out in the sectional finals by Messiah 3-1. This season, the Yellowjackets have proven to be grouped in with the best, finishing 15-2-2 on the year. Two of their four blemishes have come to teams that were in the 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championships (St. Lawrence and Carnegie Mellon).

Rochester is led by Jeff Greblick and Alex Swanger, both who have nine goals to their name. Greblik has added to his value this season by contributing nine assists, giving him 27 points. Mike Moranz has handled the goaltending duties this season, posting a 15-2-2 record, a 0.61 GAA, and a .804 save percentage.

Seniors' 4-year Record (through Nov. 17)

Rutgers-Camden: 68-13-8 (.809) overall | NCAA's ('11-'12-'13): 5-1-1, Sweet 16 - '11-'13, Elite 8 - '11

York (Pa.): 64-15-11 (.772) overall | NCAA's ('10-'11-'12-'13): 3-2-2, Sweet 16 - '12-'13

Montclair St.: 68-15-10 (.785) overall | NCAA's ('10-'11-'12-'13): 8-3-2, Sweet 16 - '11-'12-'13, Elite 8 - '11-'12, Final Four - '11

Rochester: 44-14-13 (.711) overall | NCAA's ('10-'12-'13): 2-2-1, Sweet 16 - '13

Tournament Experience

Combined, these teams have 10 appearances in the national tournament, nine Sweet 16 appearances, and one Final Four appearance. Expect each team to be well prepared and knowledgeable of what’s at stake this weekend.

York and Montclair’s seniors know nothing besides the NCAA Tournament. They’ve made it each of the past four seasons. York has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season. They fell to eventual national champion Messiah last year. Montclair State has made it as far as the Final Four, advancing there in 2011 before falling in the national semifinal to Ohio Northern.

Rutgers-Camden have experienced this stage before, advancing all the way to the Elite Eight in 2011. Last season, the Scarlet Raptors fell in the second round to York in penalties.

The Yellowjackets of Rochester make their third appearance in four years, but first in the Sweet 16. Five seasons ago, Rochester advanced all the way to the Elite 8 before falling to Messiah. Since then, they’ve only made it out of the opening round once, and that’s this year.

Tournament Re-Matches

Neither of the sectional semifinal games feature rematches from earlier this season, but we could see one in the sectional final. Rutgers-Camden and Montclair State met earlier this season, with that game ending in a draw. However, York and Rutgers-Camden are locking horns in the tournament for the second straight year. In last year's second round match at York, the hosts took three times as many shots, but neither they nor Rutgers could find the back of the net in 110 minutes of action and York was better from the penalty stripe to advance to the Sweet 16. 

Why they will advance to the Final Four

Rutgers-Camden: The Scarlet Raptors have been in the national spotlight all season long and have the resume to back it up at 20-0-2. With a .582 SOS, their 20 wins carry weight and have gone 6-0-2 against ranked opponents.

York: They’ve been right on the doorstep for a number of years, only to have the book shut on their season at the sectional round. They’re the one team in the entire tournament that has defeated Messiah, last year’s national champion, so expect them to bring the same level of intensity to their matches this weekend.

Montclair St.: The most successful out of all these teams in the past four years, the Red Hawks are hungry to eclipse their finish in 2011. They’ve taken some bruises on the season, but appear to have grown from them. If they advance to the Elite Eight and end up meeting Rutgers-Camden, expect a hard-fought, grueling battle between two NJAC foes.

Rochester: A preseason favorite by the Bennett Ranking system, Rochester has seen themselves in the Top 25 for most of the season. They finished UAA play at 5-1-1, but have been undefeated in their last seven matches. Many might consider them the underdogs in this quadrant, but don’t count them out from sneaking up on an opponent.