The Hobart College soccer team will travel to Swarthmore, Pa., for the first round of the 2009 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament. The Statesmen will square off against St. Joseph’s College of Long Island at 5 p.m., followed by host 10th-ranked Swarthmore taking on Merchant Marine Academy at 7:30 p.m. The winners will meet on Sunday at 6 p.m.
All three matches will have live stats and live streaming video, available at www.Swarthmore.edu/athletics.
Hobart won its first Liberty League Championship on Saturday, defeating Union 2-1 in double-overtime, and earning the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This marks the Statesmen’s fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and fifth overall. Hobart is 3-3-2 in tournament play.
The Statesmen hold a 14-3-2 overall record, and are led by sophomore
Michael Moulton (5 goals-3 assists), first-year
Will Abbott (5g-3a), sophomore
Tommy Hayes (4g-5a), and junior
Kevin McCarthy (5g-3a), who have all tallied 13 points. McCarthy was named the MVP of the Liberty League Tournament after netting both game-winning goals and adding a helper in two games.
Sophomore goalie
Charlie Hale has anchored the Hobart defense, posting a 0.85 goals against average and a .823 save percentage with nine shutouts.
St. Joseph’s recently won its second straight Skyline Conference Championship with a 2-1 win over Old Westbury. The Golden Eagles hold a 13-8-0 overall record. John Dettori leads the offense with 47 points (19g-9a), while Stephan Zaech (14g-13a) and Adam Rogers (14g-7a) are right behind him with 41 and 35 points, respectively.
Michael Dougherty has led the Golden Eagles in goal. He’s recorded a 13-4-0 mark with a 1.29 goals against average, an .829 save percentage, and eight shutouts.
Hobart and St. Joseph’s have squared off against two common opponents, St. John Fisher and Fredonia. The Statesmen defeated the Cardinals 2-0 and tied the Blue Devils 2-2, while the Golden Eagles lost to both (St. John Fisher 5-1, Fredonia 2-1).