Mike Stackhouse, left, gives goalie Kris Carrington a huge hug after the Owls defeated Salem State in the MASCAC championship game. (Photo by Nancy Bals)
WESTFIELD The Westfield State University men’s soccer team left for Pennsylanvia early yesterday morning in preparation for their opening round NCAA Tournament game at Dickinson College in Carlisle tonight.
The game begins at 6:00 p.m. There will be no live video stream but there will be live stats.
The Dickinson men’s soccer team earned an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament, making its second straight appearance and fourth in program history.
The Red Devils (12-4-2) will host Westfield State University (9-9-2) in the first round match-up at Dickinson’s Miller Field. The Red Devils were the #2-seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament, earning a spot in the semifinals last weekend.
Haverford College posted a 1-0 win against Dickinson and captured the conference title with a 1-0 decision over top-seed Swarthmore to earn the automatic bid. Swarthmore also earned an at-large berth, joining Dickinson on the same side of the bracket.
The Red Devils make their second straight appearance after capturing the Centennial Conference title in 2011. They traveled to New Jersey last season and posted a first round win over Vassar College before suffering a second round setback to host Montclair State. Dickinson earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids in 2008 and 2009.
The Westfield men upset Salem State, 3-0, in the MASCAC championship to earn their first NCAA bid in six years. The Owls own a 9-9-2 overall record but they are peaking at the right time under first year head coach John Evans as they have allowed only one goal and have posted a 4-0-1 record in their last five games.
Westfield is led in scoring by all-conference first-team selections Jon Principato (5 goals, 3 assists, 13 points) and Jared Spicer (3-3-9); both are senior midfielders. Second team all-conference selections were senior back Bill Reagan and junior forward Dan Brady.
The winner of the Westfield-Dickinson game will play at top seed Amherst College on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
