Leopards Earn Top Seed in ECAC Tournament

BOSTON, Mass. – For the third time in five seasons and fourth time since 2001, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's soccer team has earned a berth in the ECAC Division III New England Men's Soccer Tournament.  The Leopards have been awarded the top seed and will host eighth-seeded Lesley University on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., at Sweeney Field.  The tournament consists of eight teams which will be competing at four quarterfinal sites on Wednesday.  The highest remaining seed will host the semifinals on Saturday and the championship on Sunday.

Wentworth enters the tournament with a 12-8 record after falling in the championship game of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, 4-0, to Western New England.  That loss snapped a four-game win streak – all coming by shutout – for the Leopards, who, after being picked to finish 10th in the pre-season poll, finished third and made their second trip to the title game in three seasons.

The Leopards paced by sophomore forward Josh Deschene (Webster, Mass.) who leads the team with seven goals and six assists (20) points, while junior forward Ben Nasman (Lenox, Mass.) has scored 12 points on five goals and two assists.  Junior forward John Golden (Whitman, Mass.) has nine points coming on three goals and three assists.  Junior keeper Brian Pearsall (Sanford, Maine) has been solid in goal, posting a 12-7 record with a 1.58 goals against average and five shutouts.  He had his personal shutout streak of 624:06 snapped.  Deschene, Nasman, and junior defender Anthony Berntsen (Portland, Maine) were all named Second Team All-TCCC.

Lesley presently sits at 15-4-2 after falling to Daniel Webster, 2-1 in overtime, in the championship game of the New England Collegiate Conference Tournament, in which they were the number two seed.  That loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Lynx, all by shutout as well.

Offensively, freshman midfielder Ari Sinanis (Guilford, Conn.) leads the way, having scored eight goals (five game-winning tallies) and six assists for 22 points.  Junior midfielder Tyler Reeves (Coventry, Conn.) has seven goals and six assists (20 points) on the year, while freshman midfielder Darius Koep (Pittstown, N.J.) has seven goals (four game winners) for 14 points.  In goal, junior Zach Almeida-Beers (Rehoboth, Mass.) is 12-4-2 with a 1.02 goals against average and seven shutouts.

Wentworth sports a 2-3 record in its three prior ECAC Tournament appearances.  In 2001 the Leopards lost at Plymouth State, 4-2, and fell at Clark, 4-1, in 2005.  Two seasons ago Wentworth defeated Southern Maine and Framingham State, 3-0, and 2-1, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before falling at Norwich, 2-1, in the championship game.  Lesley is making its first-ever appearance in the ECAC Tournament.

2009 ECAC New England Division III Men's Soccer Tournament
Wednesday, November 11, Quarterfinals
(8) Lesley (15-4-2) at (1) Wentworth (12-8-0), 6:00 p.m.
(5) Anna Maria (10-8-0) at (4) Westfield State (9-8-2), 2:00 p.m.
(6) Daniel Webster (12-5-0) at (3) Plymouth State (9-8-0), 4:00 p.m.
(7) Norwich (10-7-2) at (2) Castleton (10-7-3), 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 14, Semifinals (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Lesley/Wentworth winner vs Anna Maria/Westfield State winner; Daniel Webster/Plymouth State winner vs Norwich/Castleton winner, TBA

Sunday, November 15, Finals (at Saturday site)
Semifinal winners, TBA