PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.--Plattsburgh State will play Amherst College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Sandy MacAllaster Field on the campus of Saint Lawrence University in Canton. The host Saints entertain SUNYIT in another opening round matchup at 11 a.m. earlier in the day, with the winners of both games meeting at 1 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the Sectionals.
The Cardinals are 13-4-4 overall, representing the State University of New York Athletic Conference as an automatic bid. The nationally-ranked (#24 NSCAA) Lord Jeffs are 11-2-3 and are an at-large selection from the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Liberty League champion SLU (16-2-2; #7 NSCAA, #24 D3soccer.com) is unbeaten in its last 16 games while the Wildcats (13-5-1) are North Eastern Athletic Conference champions for the first time ever.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Plattsburgh defeated Geneseo, Oneonta and Brockport via penalty kicks during the SUNYAC Tournament. Amherst lost in the NESCAC Semifinals to eventual champion Middlebury, but was granted one of 17 at-large/Pool C bids. SLU downed Rensselaer, 2-0, in the LL title game, and SUNYIT edged Penn State-Harrisburg in PKs for the NEAC crown. Plattsburgh, SLU and SUNYIT are all automatic entries.
TICKET PRICES
The gates open at 10 a.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. The cost is $6 for adults, $3 for students with ID and senior citizens and $2 for children under age of 12. The NCAA does not allow complimentary tickets in its Championships.
MULTIMEDIA PLATFORMS
LiveStats will be available for all three contests. The link will be announced when it becomes available.
CARDINALS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
This signals the program’s 10th appearance in the Big Dance, including the second straight year. Plattsburgh is 5-6-5 all-time in the national championship, including a 2-3-2 mark at neutral sites. The program is second among SUNYAC schools for most NCAA trips (Cortland-15).
| Year |
Round |
Opponent |
Score |
| 1981 |
First |
at Saint Lawrence |
L, 2-3 (ot) |
| 1992 |
First |
at Cortland |
T, 1-1 (2ot; Plattsburgh 4-3 in PKs) |
|
Second |
vs. Rochester Tech |
L, 1-2 (4ot) |
| 1993 |
First |
vs. Clarkson |
T, 1-1 (2ot; Clarkson 11-10 in PKs) |
| 1994 |
First |
vs. Albany (N.Y.) |
W, 2-0 |
|
Second |
vs. Rochester Tech |
L, 1-2 |
| 1998 |
Reg. Semis |
at Saint Lawrence |
T, 1-1 (2ot; SLU 3-0 in PKs) |
| 1999 |
Reg. Semis |
vs. Ithaca |
W, 2-0 |
|
Reg. Finals |
at Saint Lawrence |
L, 1-4 |
| 2000 |
Reg. Semis |
vs. Hamilton |
T, 1-1 (2ot; Hamilton 4-3 in PKs) |
| 2005 |
Second |
BROCKPORT |
W, 5-2 |
|
Reg. Semis |
WESTERN NEW ENGLAND |
W, 1-0 |
|
Reg. Finals |
WILLIAMS |
W, 1-0 |
|
Nat'l Semis |
vs. Messiah |
L, 0-4 |
| 2009 |
First |
BOWDOIN |
T, 0-0 (2ot; Plattsburgh 6-5 in PKs) |
|
Second |
at Rochester |
L, 0-3 |
TEAM RECORDS (How the Cardinals have fared in 2010…)
Overall: 13-4-4 (.714)
Conference: 6-3 (.667)/4th Place in SUNYAC
Home: 7-2-1 (.750)
Away: 5-2-2 (.667)
Neutral: 1-0-1 (.750)
Overtime: 2-2-4 (.500)
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Plattsburgh enters the weekend with a 6-3-2 mark in its last 11 outings--with all three losses coming by one goal margins and in overtime. The team leads SUNYAC in shots (348), points (115), goals (40), assists (35), shutouts (12), corner kicks (137) and is ranked second in fewest goals allowed (15). Team leaders are Chris Taylor with 21 points and a SUNYAC-leading 13 assists, which is second in NCAA Division III; Pat Shaughnessy with nine goals (20 points) and 55 shots; and goalkeeper Andy Heighington (12-4-4) with a 0.69 goals-against average and 66 saves.
Click on the link for the numerical roster that leads to players' biographies: http://www.gocardinalsports.com/roster.aspx?path=msoc
CARDINAL STATISTICS
click on the link: http://www.gocardinalsports.com/custompages/Men's%20Soccer/2010-11/teamstat.htm?path=msoc
PLATTSBURGH'S POSTSEASON HISTORY
The Cardinals are 11-5-8 all-time in the SUNYAC tournament, appearing for the 12th consecutive year. Plattsburgh is a seven-time conference champion in 1992, 1994, 1998-2000, 2005 and 2010. Add eight ECAC Upstate tournament berths for a 6-5-1 record, the Cardinals are 22-16-14 in games after the regular season.
HEAD COACH CHRIS WATERBURY
A 1981 undergraduate of SUNY Cortland, the 26-year veteran of the Cardinal sideline is the winningest coach in SUNYAC history with a 360-110-51 worksheet (.741). Overall, Waterbury is 384-128-55 (.726) in 29 years that includes stops at Plattsburgh, Lyndon State (1983-84) and New England College (1982). Click on the link for his complete biography: http://www.gocardinalsports.com/coaches.aspx?rc=49&path=msoc
CHARTING HISTORY
Team captain Chris Taylor, a senior midfielder, set the Cardinals' all-time assists record earlier this season and currently has 38 for his four-year career.
Andy Heighington, a sophomore, needs one shutout to tie Eric Rienecker for second-place (12 in 1994) on the all-time single-season list and to surpass John Schraner (20 from 1996, '99-01) for third place on the career ladder with 21.
CARDINAL NOTES
Plattsburgh was sixth in the last published NCAA East Region Rankings on Nov. 3...the last time the program entered the NCAA Tournament as the SUNYAC Champion, it made a run to the 2005 Final Four...players have made 15-of-16 attempts during a penalty-kick shootout this season...eight overtime games ties the school record held by last year's squad, when they also set another benchmark with six draws...All-SUNYAC performers are senior backs John LoGuirato, Bart Misiak, Taylor to the first team and Heighington, Shaughnessy--a junior forward--to the second unit
SCOUTING THE LORD JEFFS
They feature two of the NESCAC’s top scoring players in sophomore forward Spencer Noon and senior midfielder Ian Rothkopf. Noon ranks atop the NESCAC table in goals (11) and is tied for first in points (24), while Rothkopf sits tied for second in points (20) and first in the conference in assists (8). Like Plattsburgh, Amherst once again has one of the nation’s stingiest defenses, led by junior goalie Lennard Kovacs. He has started in all 16 games, surrendering just eight goals on the year. With a 0.52 goals-against average, Kovacs has posted five clean sheets, and has exited the game in the final minutes to give way to substitutes during another four shutout wins. Justin Serpone is in his fourth season as head coach, posting a 53-12-8 record and an NCAA tournament appearance each time--including a run to the semifinals in 2008.
