Men's Soccer | 10/30/2018 12:04:00 PM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – For the 10th time in program history, the St. John Fisher College men's soccer team will vie for an Empire 8 Championship and a berth into the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship as the Cardinals, who earned the fourth overall seed, will take on top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology, which is hosting the four-team championship, at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinal round of play.  Second-seeded Alfred will face third-seeded Nazareth at 12 p.m. on the other side of the bracket with the winner of each game meeting at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the title game.

Fans unable to make the trek to Hoboken, N.J. can still take in all of the action by clicking the links below:

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In the meantime, check out some notes and statistics below to bring yourself up to speed on this weekend's matchups.

IT'S A MARATHON NOT A SPRINT: Is it a coincidence that the 2018 New York City Marathon takes place the same weekend as the Empire 8 Championship?  No – but it makes sense with this note – The Cardinals began their season with an uphill climb as head coach Rob Searl's team faced off with six difficult opponents including No. 9 Rochester, No. 12 Drew and nationally-ranked Stevens, which did not lose in conference this season.  Despite the tough start, the team continued to improve on the defensive end of the field and posted a 2-1-0 record over its last three games to clinch a spot in this year's championship field.  Perhaps, for Fisher, the adage is true: it's not how you start, but rather how you finish that counts.

SHADES OF 2016?: This season seems to parallel well with the 2016 squad that also entered the postseason as the fourth overall seed.  After drawing a matchup with the top-seeded Ducks that year, Fisher made the most of its first postseason since 2012 as the Cardinals shocked Stevens after advancing on penalty kicks.  The Cardinals continued to turn heads in the championship bout and defeated third-seeded Houghton College, 3-2, to earn the program's first-ever Empire 8 Crown and a trip to the NCAA Championship.

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM: We touched on Fisher's postseason record in the opening paragraph, but did you know this is the Cardinals' third straight trip to the Empire 8 Championship?  After winning it all in 2016, the Cardinals returned to the postseason in 2017 and 2018.  To date, Fisher owns a 3-6-3 overall record in the four-team tournament.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Through 16 games this season, Fisher has had nine different players record at least one goal and 10 players with at least one point overall.  Brennan Brown, Justin Bonetto, Joe Balls, Tyler Randall and Brian Norman have each found the back of the net twice while Glenn Roschetzky, Matt Maggy, Antonio Robles and Matthew Kaiser have each scored once this season.

WHAT'S YOUR LONG-TERM GOAL?: Sophomore Justin Miles has looked sharp in net for the Cardinals this season.  Over 12 games this season, Miles has allowed just 10 goals and ranks third among all conference keepers with a 1.09 goals against average.  Miles (4-3-1) also ranks fourth in save percentage at .787 and has posted two shutouts overall. 

SCOUTING STEVENS:  The Ducks, who rank 21st in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, bring a 15-2-1 overall mark into this weekend's championship, which includes a perfect 7-0 record against Empire 8 opposition.  As a team, Stevens, which enters play as the defending champion after dispatching of The Sage Colleges en route to a Sweet 16 appearance, leads the Empire 8 in numerous statistical categories including goals (43), shots (316), corners (129), opponent's scoring average (0.56) and scoring average (2.4).

Individually, Stevens boasts two of the top three point-getters in the conference led by Daniel Aversano who has totaled 26 points in 16 games.  Adam Silva ranks third in the Empire 8 with 21 points while Haddy Abdelhady has three goals and two assists over 17 games this season. 

In goal, Stevens is led by Aaron Henry's 0.49 goals against average.  Over 16 starts, Henry (13-2-1) has made 24 saves and has a .750 save percentage to go along with nine shutouts.  
 
SCOUTING ALFRED:  The Saxons earned the two seed on Saturday after outlasting Fisher in the second overtime period, 2-1.  Had the fates been reversed, the seeding would be flipped.  Alfred enters play with a 6-12 overall record and a 5-2 mark in conference play this season.  Alfred doesn't do anything that will overwhelm its opponents, however, it does rank fourth in the conference with 26 goals. 

Cody Cronmiller and Alexander Tostanoski lead the team with 10 points apiece.  Tostanoski is one of the top goal scorers in the conference this season with five tallies to his name. 

 The Saxons' defense, however, has had its struggles this season as the team has allowed nearly three goals to its opponents on average.  Entering play this weekend, the Saxons have yielded five goals or more to an opponent seven times including eight goals in back-to-back games. 
    
SCOUTING NAZARETH:  The Golden Flyers earned a spot in the conference tournament by virtue of their 4-1 win over Houghton College on Saturday to close out the regular season with a 4-2-1 mark in conference play.  Nazareth, which sits at 11-6-1 overall after losing three of its final five matches, was perhaps the second most potent offense in the Empire 8 this season at nearly two goals scored on average and 252 shots.  The Golden Flyers also own perhaps the top goal-keeping unit in the conference with a .808 save percentage to go along with 63 saves and eight shutouts.

On the offensive end of the pitch, the Golden Flyers are led by Jake Adams' 22 points along with Sam Smyth's 20 points in 18 games.  Zein Mohamed is also capable of scoring with five goals to go along with a team-leading nine assists.

In goal, Brian Wilkin is 11-6-1 on the season with eight shutouts as previously noted.  Wilkin has played over 1,600 minutes in goal this season and has surrendered just 15 goals in that time.

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