MEN'S SOCCER READY TO TAKE ON JWU IN GNAC QUARTERS

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's soccer team will travel to Providence, R.I. to take on Johnson & Wales University in the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinals this Saturday, October 29 with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 PM. The Saints earn the No. 6 seed in the eight-team field while the Wildcats boast the No. 3 seed, seeking the programs fourth consecutive GNAC title.

This marks Emmanuel's ninth berth and fourth consecutive appearance in the GNAC tournament while JWU earns its' 19th appearance, having qualified every season since 2012. The Saints are 1-8 all-time in the GNAC playoffs, with their lone win coming in 2011 with a 3-2 victory over Emerson College. The Wildcats boast a GNAC tournament record of 26-9-4 with eight total GNAC championships.

It will be an uphill climb for the Saints who have never beaten the Wildcats in their two postseason meetings.  Johnson & Wales won a pair of 3-0 postseason matches against EC back in 2004 and 2013.

In their meeting regular season meeting last week, Emmanuel gave the Wildcats all they could handle in a 1-0 loss down in Providence, R.I. The Saints battled the JWU to a scoreless match until the 76^th minute when junior midfielder Chris Schmid (Clifton Park, N.Y.) scored with a header off a cross from sophomore forward Andrew Vecere (Wayne, N.J.). The game saw fast back and forth action from the two sides with Johnson & Wales tallying 25 shots and Emmanuel earning 14. EC freshman goalkeeper Jonathan Ferrarini (Hanover, Mass.) posted a season high 12 saves in the contest.

The Saints are led by senior tri-captains Jordan Maurer (Florence, Mass.), Jeff Allen (South Windsor, Conn.) and Zack Foley (Uncasville, Conn.) all of whom have been instrumental in the team's success so far this season.  The Saints offense will feature senior forward Colin O'Donnell (Killingworth, Conn.) who leads the team with 10 goals and 23 points ranking second in goals and third in points in the GNAC, respectively.

For the Wildcats, senior midfielder Xaiver Carty (Mount Vernon N.Y.) and sophomore midfielder Tegan Drake (Waterbury Vt.) lead the way with six goals each, while Carty has added four assists and Drake has tallied two assists. Johnson & Wales has seen action from two keepers this season that have combined for an impressive 0.90 goals against average.  The keeper duo is spearheaded by senior Jon Robbins (Berkley Heights, N.J.) and junior Nicholas Mancini (Toms River, N.J.) with 11 and seven starts, respectively.

The winner of Saturday's quarterfinal will take on the winner of the No. 7 Rivier College vs. No. 2 Norwich University contest on Tuesday, November 1 at the site of the higher seed.

Watch the game live on the video stream here: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/jwuri/