The 2014 Liberty League Men's Soccer Championship Bracket
2014 Liberty League Men's Soccer Championship Central
2014 LIBERTY LEAGUE MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Team Seedings
1. St. Lawarence University –
Roster |
Stats
2. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute –
Roster |
Stats
3. Vassar College –
Roster |
Stats
4. Hobart College –
Roster |
Stats
How St. Lawrence & RPI reached the Championship
Top-seeded St. Lawrence University and second-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute earned semifinal victories in the Liberty League men's soccer tournament to advance to Saturday's championship game. St. Lawrence will host the championship for the second straight year.St. Lawrence defeated Hobart 1-0 in double overtime off a goal from the Saints' leading scoring Rob Brandell. RPI eliminated Vassar, 3-1, thanks to a two-goal performance from Nathanial Gunderson and an additional goal scored by Matt Koziol.
Earlier this season...
The Saints traveled to Troy, N.Y. at the start of October for their regular season match-up against the Engineers. St. Lawrence scored two second-half goals to remain undefeated in league play and beat RPI by a score of 2-0. St. Lawrence's top two offensive players, Harry Copeland and Rob Dewald both notched a goal in the win. St. Lawrence held an 11-7 edge in shots, while both teams had four corner kicks.
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CHAMPIONSHIP: #2 RPI at #1 St. Lawrence
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(1) St. Lawrence 15-2-1 (7-0-1 Liberty League)
Leaders:
Rob Brandell (7 goals, 4 assists)
Harry Copeland (7 goals, 1 assist)
Mark Provost (3 goals, 5 assists)
Goalkeeper:
Sean Houston (10-1-1, .73 GAA, .771 SP)
Aaron Costello (5-1-1, 1.06 GAA, .632 SP) |
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(2) RPI 13-4-3 (4-2-2 Liberty League)
Leaders:
Matt Koziol (7 goals, 3 assists)
Matt Carberry (5 goals, 2 assists)
Nathaniel Gunderson (5 goals, 2 assists)
Goalkeeper:
Rob Dewald (10-3-2, .57 GAA, .843 SP) |
Regular Season Matchups (Saints lead 1-0)
October 4, 2014: St. Lawrence 2, RPI 0 |
Tournament Preview
St. Lawrence, ranked 11th in the nation, comes into the 2014 Liberty League Men’s Soccer Championship as the top seed for the second straight season and the fourth time in five years. The Saints are 14-2-1 (7-0-1 in conference play) and are tops among the league in points per game (6.24), goals per game (2.18) and assists per game (1.88). Defensively, St. Lawrence is led by the goaltending tandem of Sean Houston (9-1-1) and Aaron Costello (5-1-1). Rob Brandell (16 points), Harry Copeland (15 points) and Mark Provost (11 points) are the top offensive leaders for St. Lawrence. The Saints, who have not lost a game since early September, host fourth-seeded Hobart on Wednesday. The Statesmen posted a 12-4-3 overall record in the regular season while recording 10 shutouts. St. Lawrence opened Liberty League play with Hobart in September and secured a 3-1 victory over the Statesmen. Hobart leads the Liberty League in points (121) and goals (41). A trio of juniors lead Hobart, midfielders Marco Ronning (18 points) and Jacob Fox (13 points) as well as goalkeeper Tyler Serafine. Serafine (5-1-2), has split goaltending duties with Mike Lucas (7-3-1). Together, the two have combined for a 0.92 goals against average and .851 save percentage. The Statesmen are in the midst of their own unbeaten streak (8) and in that stretch have allowed only three goals.
In the other semifinal game, No. 2 RPI hosts No. 3 Vassar. The Engineers (11-3-3) are currently ranked 20th nationally while leading the league in fewest goals per game (0.47) and outscoring opponents 27-8 in the regular season. Offensively, Matt Koziol (15) and Matt Carberry (12) lead the team in points. Both are among league leaders in goals per game and each have notched three game-winning goals this season. Rob Dewald (9-3-2) anchors the Engineers with a 0.57 goals against average and an .843 save percentage. RPI went 6-1-1 in the league and is unbeaten in its last five league games including a 2-0 win over the Brewers. A pair of juniors are the offensive leaders for Vassar, Gavin Jennings has registered 11 points on a league-leading nine assists and one goal, while Jordan Palmer has scored three goals and dished out three assists for nine points. 17 different players have scored a goal for Vassar this season and 10 have notched game-winning goals. In net, for the Brewers, is Adam Warner, who has started all 16 games this season, is 9-4-2 with a 1.12 goals against average and a .746 save percentage.
SEMIFINAL 1: #1 St. Lawrence 1, #4 Hobart 0 (2OT) BOX
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(1) St. Lawrence 14-2-1 (7-0-1 Liberty League)
Leaders:
Rob Brandell (6 goals, 4 assists)
Harry Copeland (7 goals, 1 assist)
Mark Provost (3 goals, 5 assists)
Goalkeeper:
Sean Houston (9-1-1, .73 GAA, .771 SP)
Aaron Costello (5-1-1, 1.06 GAA, .632 SP) |
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(4) Hobart 12-4-3 (4-2-2 Liberty League)
Leaders:
Marco Ronning (5 goals, 8 assists)
Jacob Fox (5 goals, 3 assists)
Kyle Herod (4 goals, 1 assist)
Goalkeeper:
Mike Lucas (7-3-1, 1.05 GAA, .829 SP)
Tyler Serafine (5-1-2, .76 GAA, .880 SP) |
Regular Season Matchups (Saints lead 1-0)
September 27, 2014: St. Lawrence 3, Hobart 1 |
SEMIFINAL 2: #2 RPI 3, #3 VASSAR 2 BOX
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(2) RPI 11-3-3 (6-1-1 Liberty League)
Leaders:
Matt Koziol (6 goals, 3 assists)
Matt Carberry (5 goals, 2 assists)
Vito Mesiti (3 goals, 2 assists)
Goalkeeper:
Rob Dewald (9-3-2, .57 GAA, .843 SP) |
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(3) Vassar 11-5-2 (5-2-1 Liberty League)
Leaders:
Gavin Jennings (1 goal, 9 assists)
Jordan Palmer (3 goals, 3 assists)
Cosmo Veneziale (3 goals, 2 assists)
Goalkeeper:
Adam Warner (9-5-2, 1.12 GAA, .771 SP) |
Regular Season Matchups (Engineers lead 1-0)
October 25, 2014: RPI 2, Vassar 0 |
Recent Liberty League Men's Soccer Tournament History
2013
Champion: St. Lawrence
Semifinals
#4 Vassar 0 at #1 St. Lawrence 1 Box
#3 Skidmore 2 at #2 RPI 0 Box
Championship
#3 Skidmore 3 at #1 St. Lawrence 1 Box
2012
Champion: RPI
Semifinals
#4 Union 1 at #1 Vassar 3 Box
#3 St. Lawrence 1 at #2 RPI 1 Box
RPI advances 3-2 on penalty kicks
Finals
#2 RPI 1 at #1 Vassar 1
RPI wins on penalty kicks 4-2 Box
2011
Champion: Vassar
Semifinals
#4 Vassar 0 at #1 St. Lawrence 0 Box
Vassar advances 3-1 on penalty kicks
#3 RIT 2 at #2 Hobart 0 Box
Finals
#4 Vassar 3 at #3 RIT 2 Box
2010
Champion: St. Lawrence
Semifinals
#4 Hamilton 2 at #1 St. Lawrence 3 (2OT) Box
#3 Rensselaer 0 at #2 Union 0 (2OT) Box
Rensselaer advances 5-4 on penalty kicks
Championship
#3 Rensselaer 0 at #1 St. Lawrence 2 Box
2009
Champion: Hobart
Semifinals
#3 Hamilton 0 at #2 Hobart 1 Box
#4 Union 3 at #1 Rensselaer 2 (2OT) Box
Championship
#4 Union 1 at #2 Hobart 2 (2OT) Box