Live Video | Preview Video with junior goalkeeper Aaron Henry

CORTLAND, N.Y. (November 10, 2017)  – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team begins play in the 2017 NCAA Tournament with a first round match Saturday afternoon with Middlebury College in the Cortland Regional, hosted by the State University of New York at Cortland.

The fixture is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. on SUNY Cortland's Jets Field.

The Ducks will be making their 15th trip to the NCAAs since the 2001 season and first under second-year head coach Dale Jordan.

Revisiting History
The only meeting between Stevens and Middlebury occurred in the 2008 NCAA Quarterfinals. Stevens knocked off the Panthers, who were the defending national champions, on penalties. Then-sophomore goalkeeper Zach Carr made two saves in the shootout and then-senior Craig Moquin connected on the final shot on the fifth round to send Stevens on to the semifinal round. The teams played to a 1-1 tie after 110 minutes of play, necessitating the shootout.

Champions Again
Stevens reached the tournament after winning its 10th Empire 8 Conference crown at the DeBaun Athletic Complex last weekend. Senior Jonas Melendez connected for his first career goal with 16 remaining in regulation to give the Ducks a 1-0 victory over The Sage Colleges. Junior Nicholas Cousillas was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Senior defenders Patrick Boylan and Tommy Dorsay, along with junior Andrew Masur, joined Cousillas on the All-Tournament Team.

Keeping it Close
Nine of the team's 19 matches this fall were decided by one goal. Stevens went 5-4 in one-goal matches and played a stretch of five consecutive matches and six of seven in the month of September. 

Hank's "Cleaning" Up
Junior goalkeeper Aaron Henry returning from an injury and reclaimed his starting spot in between the pipes. Henry's posted an 11-4-1 record with a 0.86 goals against average and 59 saves. The Fayetteville, Arkansas posted seven clean sheets and enters the tournament with a 237:49 shutout streak.

Offensive Nuggets
Sixteen different players have registered at least one point for the second straight season, led by juniors Daniel Aversano and Andrew Masur, who've each recorded 11 points. Stevens is outscoring opponents by over one-half-a-goal and has registered nearly 100 more shots than opposing teams.

Stevens has scored an equal number of goals in each half and as the match progresses, the defense, led by Boylan and Dorsay, has clamped down on the opposition, allowing just seven goals over the final 45 this season. 

Getting Defensive
Stevens has allowed exactly one goal to opponents for the second straight season. 

Meeting Middlebury
Middlebury will be making their 11th NCAA appearance but first since 2010. In tournament play, Middlebury is 11-5-5, including a 3-2 mark in games decided by penalty kicks. The Panthers are coming off a 12-6 campaign and received an at-large bid to the tournament after falling to defending national champion Tufts in the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship.

The Panthers arrive in Cortland with a 6-2 mark over their last eight matches. Nine of the team's 12 wins have come via a 1-0 score and the team has won 10 matches via shutout. 

Sophomore forward Drew Goulart leads Middlebury's offense with five goals and four assists. The Second Team All-NESCAC honoree has also registered three game-winning goals.

In goal, senior Jeremy Yeager has played every minute this season. The North Potomac, Maryland native enters the weekend with a 0.92 goals against average and 52 saves, leading the conference in both wins (12) and clean sheets (10). Yeager has posted shutout streaks of 412:35, 367:45 and 312:07.

Looking Ahead
Should Stevens defeat Middlebury, the winner of the Cortland-Mt. St. Mary College fixture awaits Sunday afternoon at 1:30. The winner of Sunday's fixture advances to the Sweet 16 next weekend. Cortland won the State University of New York Athletic Conference regular season crown, but fell to Plattsburgh in the semifinal. The Mount won its second Skyline Conference Championship to reach the tournament for the second time in program history.

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