Men's Sectional Previews: Northeast

By Henry Loughlin

Third Round - Saturday

Quarterfinals - Sunday

Sectional Final, 1:00 pm ET

How they reached the Sweet 16

2019 Statistical Overview

Amherst Season Review

By many standards, last season would have been a solid one for Amherst: 14-5-1 overall and yet another Sweet 16 appearance — the Mammoths’ 11th straight under coach Justin Serpone. By the Mammoths’ own lofty standards, though, it wasn’t as good as it could have been, as NESCAC rival Tufts — who went on to win its third title in five years — bounced them from the NCAA tournament in decisive fashion, 3-0.

The Mammoths came back stronger this year, though, and looked like a champion-in-waiting for much of the season, rolling through the NESCAC regular season 8-0-2, including a 2-1 overtime scalp of their rival Jumbos, a result which swung conference momentum to the Pioneer Valley. And even on the two occasions Amherst failed to win — games against Conn. College and Middlebury — it battled back to secure a draw after trailing 1-0 inside the final ten minutes. As fate would have it, Amherst lost in the NESCAC semifinals, falling 1-0 to Middlebury, but the Mammoths were a lock for the NCAA tournament, and predictably took care of business in the first two rounds, flattening Thomas 6-1 in the 1st Round before edging Ithaca 2-0 in the 2nd Round.

This Amherst team is a more experienced outfit, and emblematic of the Mammoths’ rise is the development of their talisman, German Giammattei. A highly touted recruit, Giammattei had a strong first-year campaign, winning NESCAC Rookie of the Year, but the feeling was that he still had untapped potential. A year further on, and he has been virtually unplayable, scoring 22 goals and assisting 4 others — factoring in more than half of his team’s 50 goals. His Shot Pct. this season is .237, a very impressive conversion rate, and any team that wishes to stop Amherst – starting with Rowan – will have to keep him quiet.

Always strong on set pieces, offensively and defensively, Amherst has been known to rely on a combination of defensive solidity and gegenpressing up top. This has been effective for the Mammoths, to be sure, as it keeps the opponent on the defensive for the majority of the game, but can be combated by the right defensive scheme, as Tufts proved twice last year. This year, however, Amherst has played some nice combinations in open play, as well as surface-level through balls with greater regularity, revealing a side to Serpone’s team that hasn’t been seen as much in recent times. If anything, a greater variation in tactics makes Amherst even more dangerous than in previous years.

The end of the NESCAC season may not have unfolded as the Mammoths would have wanted, but that’s no problem — they’ve made it through the first weekend of the NCAA tournament and are looking as dangerous as ever. And despite the talent on display throughout all the teams visiting Hitchcock Field this weekend, the Mammoths will feel that — with an offensive force like Giammattei leading the line and greater variation in their play — they can get a pair of results to bring them back to the Final Four.

Rowan Season Review

In 2016, a highly touted Rowan side was unceremoniously bounced in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament by Tufts. And while the Jumbos went on to win their second NCAA title that year, there were questions about whether the Profs, who would have been a decent bet to host to the Final Four, had let an opportunity slip away. Those questions got louder next year when Rowan again lost 1-0 during the first weekend, this time to unfancied Cabrini in a 1st Round game that the Profs dominated, outshooting their opponents 42-2. After a 12-7-0 campaign last fall, Rowan has not only made it back to the Big Dance — with this Sweet 16 appearance, the Profs have gone further than in previous years.

Opening weekend victories over Mount St. Vincent and Carthage saw Scott Baker's Profs score four times in each outing. The next weekend was yin-and-yang for Rowan, as the Profs beat 2018 Sweet 16 team Cortland State, 1-0, before losing to Staten Island, 2-1. A road trip to Chicago the next weekend wasn't perfect, but produced two solid results, as the Profs tied with eventual UAA champion Chicago before beating 2017 NCAA finalist North Park 3-1. The rest of the regular season would be up-and-down for Rowan, as the Profs suffered defeats to Kean, Rutgers-Camden, and Ramapo, while picking up a number of solid wins, including a 3-2 2OT triumph over Montclair State, an Elite 8 team from a year ago. The NJAC tournament didn’t result in hardware for the Profs, as they fell 1-0 in the conference final, but wins over Kean and Ramapo — teams which had earlier defeated Rowan — suggested that this was a team playing its best soccer at the right time. That would appear to be true, as the Profs went on the road to Virginia and emerged from two tight contests, downing CCC champion Salve Regina in penalty kicks in the 1st Round, before knocking out host Mary Washington 3-2 in double-overtime a day later. As a result, the Profs get to continue their best tournament run since 2001, when they went to the Elite 8.

Rowan’s offensive firepower largely runs through freshman Jay Vandermark. The team leader in scoring with 12 goals and 1 assist, Vandermark has delivered on the big occasion all season, including the winner against Mary Washington, and boasts a Shot Pct. of .300 – an impressive metric of composure for any athlete, let alone a first-year. It’s common knowledge to not give a good striker many chances, but Vandermark doesn’t need many chances with that kind of efficiency. The Amherst back line will have to be extra vigilant to keep him off the score sheet.

Though a proud program, the Profs don't have the legacy of Messiah, or the recent success of Amherst, but they are playing their best soccer at the right time. Often times, that’s all that matters in these one-and-done situations — and after road successes this past weekend, Rowan will fear no one.

RPI Season Review

Since RPI’s last NCAA tournament appearance in 2015, which ended with a 2-1 (2OT) defeat to Brandeis in the 2nd Round, the Engineers ended their 2016, 2017, and 2018 games at or just above .500. To be sure, information from three seasons is hardly enough to draw any major statistical conclusions, but when this team started the season in similar fashion — they were 1-1 after their first 2 games — it may have been reasonable to assume that the Engineers would muddle along to another good-not-great season

In reality, the remainder of the campaign has been drastically different for Adam Clinton’s side. A 6-1 home win against Castleton on Sept. 7 set the tone; four days later, a 2-1 victory over NESCAC side Williams – an NCAA team from last year – made observers notice. That was nothing compared to the events of Sept. 17, when RPI pulled off a thrilling comeback against perennial power Oneonta State: trailing 1-0 late in the second half, the Engineers tied it with 52 seconds left before winning in overtime on a penalty kick. Liberty League wins over St. Lawrence, Bard, and Union followed, before a 1-1 draw with fellow conference foe Skidmore stemmed the tide a bit. RPI romped through most of the regular season, picking up league wins over Hobart, RIT, Clarkson, and Vassar, before a final-day 1-0 defeat to Ithaca and a PK shootout defeat to Clarkson in the Liberty League semifinals combined to leave a sour taste. No matter, though – the Engineers managed to snag themselves an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. And unlike 2015 – when RPI received a Pool C bid despite failing to qualify for the Liberty League playoffs – there was no question over the award of this one.

As it were, the Engineers repaid the faith shown in them by the selection committee. First, RPI romped by Eastern Nazarene, 4-0, putting on a show for the home crowd by scoring early and often. Then, in the second round, the Engineers saw off Middlebury in penalty kicks following a 0-0 draw in the second round, putting RPI into the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

Similar to Rowan, the Engineers are led offensively by a first-year: Josh Gaudiano has scored 15 goals and notched 5 assists in his maiden campaign, earning Liberty League Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards along the way. He hasn’t scored in his last six – likely a result of being a marked man – but Gaudiano’s scoring in 11 of 13 games between Sept. 7 and Oct. 19 speaks to his consistency. And with the stakes higher than ever, it pays to have a finisher like that in the squad.

Unlike the other three teams in this sectional, RPI — who has never played in a Sweet 16 game — is in new territory. That said, there’s no question that this team deserves to be playing into late November. Given that they’re here, and in a rich vein of form, they may not be done yet.

Messiah Season Review

Much like Amherst, Messiah had (what most would consider to be) a successful season last year. However, a premature end to the season befell the Falcons, as they were knocked out in the Elite 8 on a snowy afternoon in Rochester. As it were, the Falcons returned to upstate New York to start this season. Instead of getting revenge for their ouster last year, they were 0-2 after the first weekend’s games against Hobart and Ithaca. A 1-0 win at Penn. State - Harrisburg followed, stemming the tide a bit, before a 1-1 draw against Muhlenberg — a game in which the Falcons gave up an 87th minute equalizer after leading for most of the game — bestowed more uncertainty. All told, there were many wondering what this year would have in store for Messiah as early September ended.

In hindsight, injuries may have played an outsized role at the beginning of the campaign, because Brad McCarty’s team has been absolutely rampant since, going 15-0-1, including wins in each of its last 14. And when you consider that both draws were in September, it’s clear that the Falcons are in a rich vein of form.

One of the major questions coming into this season is how Messiah would replace the production of Nick West. A once-in-a-decade talent and last year’s D3soccer.com Forward of the Year, West’s Division III-leading 30 goals (plus six assists) were always going to be tough. And while the Falcons don’t have any offensive player the caliber of West, they do have capable attacking talent, led by junior Trevor Goodling’s 11 goals and 2 assists. Goodling, who had one career goal prior to this season, scored seven during the regular season, before really coming alive in the MAC Commonwealth and NCAA tournaments, scoring in the 2-1 conference final win against Lycoming and the 1st and 2nd Round games against Framingham State and SUNY Oneonta.

A national powerhouse and holder of the most men’s D-III titles (11), Messiah sneaks up on no one. Yet between 2000 and 2013, Messiah racked up 10 titles, winning at least every other season (2001, 2003, 2007, and 2011 were the exceptions); the past five years, meanwhile, have seen the NESCAC crash the party in four of those years, with Tufts — whose own dynasty was unofficially born after their 2014 Elite 8 defeat of the Falcons — winning three and Amherst one. During those years, there have been some tough-to-take endings, including a 2016 2nd Round loss in double-overtime to Calvin and last year’s Elite 8 defeat in the snow to Rochester, but Messiah did pick up a national title in 2017, beating North Park, 2-1. And with Messiah on a tear as it is right now, the Falcons will believe they have what it takes to go all the way again this year and restart their streak of winning at least once every other season.

Head Coaches

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

Players to Watch

Amherst: #9 F German Giammetti (So.) – 22g, 4a, 9gwg (NESCAC POY, 1st team) | #10 M Cutler Coleman (Sr.) – 1g, 1a (NESCAC 2x 1st team) | #7 F Dane Lind (Sr.) – 9g, 10a, 2gwg (NESCAC 2nd team)

Rowan: #5 D Modou Sowe (Sr.) – 3g, 1a, 1gwg (NJAC 3x 1st team) | #16 F Jay Vandermark (Fr.) – 12g, 1a, 4gwg (NJAC 1st team) | #10 F Chad Yates (Fr.) – 3g, 3a, 1gwg (NJAC Hon. Men.) | #11 D Kevin Primich (Sr.) – 1g, 1gwg (NJAC Hon. Men.) | #1 GK James Weinberg (So.) – 1.21 GAA, .755 Sv% (NJAC Hon. Men.)

RPI: #21 F Josh Gaudiano (Fr.) – 15g, 5a, 5gwg (LL Co-Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year) | #11 F Austin Betterly (Sr.) – 3g, 5a, 2gwg (LL 1st team) | #23 M Michael Harten (Jr.) – 1g, 7a, 1gwg (LL 1st team) | #31 D Trevor Bisson (Jr.) – 5g, 1a, 2gwg (LL 1st team)

Messiah: #9 D Cooper Robbins (Sr. –)1g, 1gwg (MAC-C DefPOY, 2x 1st team) | #17 F Micah Fitz (Sr.) – 8g, 2a, 2gwg (MAC-C 1st team) | #5 M Luke Groothoff (So.) – 6g, 2a, 1gwg (MAC-C 1st team) | #23 M Trevor Goodling (Jr.) – 11g, 2a, 7gwg (MAC-C 1st team) | #4 D Shay Quintin (Sr.) – 2g (MAC-C 1st team)

Tournament Re-Matches

Amherst has never faced either Rowan or Messiah, RPI has not played Messiah or Rowan. Messiah has contested Rowan over the years with a 3-1-0 advantage overall, 2-1-0 since 2014. In a match involving current upperclassmen, the Falcons prevailed 3-2 (2OT) in 2017 during their 24-2-0 championship run.

Considering their success and relative proximity, that is surprisingly limited history involving these four teams. Well, Amherst and RPI did meet twice in the 1920’s but that might not be relevant to today’s players … unless their great grandfather was involved.

Why they will advance to the Final Four

Amherst: This is a high-caliber team that not only knows how to win — it expects to do so. Rowan puts up a spirited fight in the Sweet 16, but Amherst simply has too much and emerges with a closer-than-the-scoreline-indicates 3-1 win that isn’t made safe until the final ten minutes. After slogging through that endeavor, the Mammoths end up facing RPI — a plucky side which, despite upsetting Messiah the day previous, hangs tough but has no answer for Giammattei. The margins are tight, but home-field advantage proves to be decisive, and Amherst finds itself in its first Final Four since 2015.

Rowan: For Amherst’s Giammattei, Rowan has Vandermark. The Mammoths endure a rare off-day on their home field, losing 2-0 to the Profs, with Rowan’s own young attacker stealing the show with a brace. Buoyed by the adrenaline of beating their decorated hosts, Rowan is raring to go for Sunday’s Elite 8 game, the furthest that the Profs have gone in the tournament since 2001, where they end up on the other side of the pitch from Messiah, who slows but can’t stop Vandermark. An upset? Perhaps, but Rowan won’t care, as it punches its ticket to its first Final Four since 2000.

RPI: The Engineers aren’t content with making it to the Sweet 16: they want to go two steps further. After downing Messiah in a 2-1 (OT) decision, their legs are a bit tired, but it doesn’t matter: the rush of pulling off a major upset has RPI wanting more. To the surprise of some, RPI ends up on the other side of the field from Rowan — whose own upset of Amherst was impressive, no doubt. In this battle of first-year talismans, both Gaudiano and Vandermark score, but it’s the former’s brace that breaks his recent goal drought, results in a 2-1 RPI win, and sends his team on the trip of a lifetime to Greensboro.

Messiah: Just because teams know the strength of the Falcons doesn’t mean that they can be stopped easily. RPI tries to keep things tight, and ends up putting up a good fight, but they just can’t stop a side as experienced as this. Facing Amherst on its own patch the next day requires a Herculean display of grit, but this is the same Messiah that thumped a very good Oneonta State side — one which won the SUNYAC title and went 17-2-0 in the regular season — 4-1 on its own field this past weekend. And while the scoreline isn’t as emphatic this time, Messiah’s 2-1 win is enough to send it back to the Final Four. For another two weeks, at least, the dream of a 12th title stays alive.

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