SoCon Men's Soccer Championship Bracket |
SoCon Men's Soccer Championship Central
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2013 Regular Season Champions and top-seeded Wofford men's soccer team prepares to take on the number four seed Furman University Friday, November 15 in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Championship hosted by the Paladins. The match will kick off at Eugene Stone III Soccer Stadium at 8 p.m.
The Terriers finished the regular season first place in the Southern Conference with a record of 5-1-0 in conference and 10-6-1 overall on the season. Furman defeated the number five seed Davidson 1-0 on Sunday November 9 on a last gasp goal from Martin Ontiveros with 30 seconds remaining to advance to the semifinals. The Paladins placed fourth in the conference with a 2-2-2 Southern Conference Record and 11-4-2 overall record.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: For the Terriers, they are attempting to make their second-straight Southern Conference final. Wofford advanced to the final in 2012 as the seventh seed, but fell to top seeded Elon University 2-1.
The last time the Terriers were the Southern Conference Tournament Champions was in 2009 when Wofford as the top seed defeated the third seeded Elon 2-1 to capture its first Southern Conference Tournament Championship in school history.
MATCHUP: Sunday marks the 38th all-time meeting between the Terriers and the Paladins. Furman has a firm lead in the matchup leading the all-time series 30-8.
LAST MEETING: Wofford and then number 14 ranked Furman met for the final Southern Conference regular season match on November 2 in Greenville, South Carolina. The Terriers claimed the regular season title with a 2-0 win on goals from junior defender Forrest Lasso in the fourth minute and freshman forward Matthew Aurednik in the 13th minute. Wofford won its second regular season title in school history.
LAST TIME OUT: On Tuesday, November 5, Wofford hosted non-conference opponent East Tennessee State University on Senior Night and lost 3-2 in overtime to end the regular season. Lasso and sophomore midfielder Nestor Jaramillo scored the goals for the Terriers. Furman defeated the number five seed Davidson 1-0 on Sunday November 9 on a last gasp game-winning goal from Martin Ontiveros with 30 seconds remaining to advance to the Southern Conference semifinals.
HEAD COACH RALPH POLSON: Ralph Polson is in his 6th season as the Wofford head men's soccer coach. Polson enters Sunday's match with a career record of 46-55-10 at Wofford and 242-159-36 for his 22 years coaching.
WOFFORD OVERVIEW: Wofford has several impact players who have made contributions to Wofford's success both offensively and defensively. The Terriers as a team have also put up some big numbers that have led to their success this season.
Offensively, Wofford has the second highest scoring offense in NCAA I Men's Soccer averaging 2.35 goals per game scoring a total of 40 goals this season, which ranks tied for fourth in the country. Contributing to the scoring, the Terriers are led by sophomore First Team All-Conference midfielder Connor Davis who led the Southern Conference with a team-high 10 goals and five assists for a Southern Conference and team-high 25 points. He also ranks in the top 25 in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer in goals and points.
Davis is followed by midfielder Nestor Jaramillo who has six goals and four assists for a total of 16 points which is second on the team. Making a huge impact this season is Second Team All-Conference and All-Freshman Team forward Matthew Aurednik who has five goals and four assists for a total of 14 points.
Defensively, Second Team All-Conference defender Forrest Lasso has contributed to a defense that gave up only six goals in conference play. He also has contributed on the offensive end and has scored seven goals this season. Capital One Academic All-District senior defender Billy Padula not only has been a leader in Wofford's defense, but has 11 assists this season which leads the Southern Conference and ranks third in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer.
In goal for the Terriers, Southern Conference All-Freshman Team goalkeeper Garrett Closs has been great against conference opponents. He has the second-lowest goals against average in the conference with a 0.99 average and is tied for the second-most shutouts in conference with two this season.
SCOUTING FURMAN: The Paladins have had a great season so far. They were ranked in the NSCAA top 25 poll earlier this season as high as 14th and are currently still receiving votes in the poll. They have had wins against top ranked opponents such as a 2-1 win over number 9 ranked Clemson on October 19 and number 25 ranked Elon 1-0 on October 19.
Furman has had a stingy defense that has only allowed 12 goals for a 0.67 goals per game which ranks 15th in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer. Sophomore All-Conference goalkeeper Sven Lissek has been a huge part of that recording nine shutouts and a 0.55 goals against average this season.
The Paladins have also been good offensively scoring a total of 29 goals this season. They are led by Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Bobby Edet who has scored a team-high seven goals this season. All-Conference forward Martin Ontiveros has also contributed with four goals and five assists for 13 total points this season.
WHAT'S AHEAD: With a win, Wofford or Furman would advance to the Southern Conference Championship match on Sunday, November 17, at Eugene Stone III Soccer Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina. The winner would face the winner of the match between the number two seed Elon University and the six seed Georgia Southern University at 5:30 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, November 17, at 1 p.m. that will be broadcast on ESPN3, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
