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Post University Athletics

Francis Eno

Men's Soccer

PREVIEW: Men's Soccer Begins NCAA Tournament At UMass-Lowell Friday Night

Eagles And River Hawks Set For 7 P.M. Start At Cushing Field



Game Notes (PDF) | Cumulative Stats | Tournament Central | NCAA Tournament Program | Interactive Bracket | Video Preview

One-Touch Passes:
  • Post qualified for its first NCAA Tournament as the Eagles garnered the fifth seed in the East Region.
  • The Eagles are the lone representative from the CACC in the East Region.
  • The team is led by CACC Player of the Year Joe Baccielo, Rookie of the Year Raphael Moura and two-time Coach of the Year Ted Haley.
  • Post completed its first unbeaten CACC Regular Season en route to its second straight regular season title.
  • All three of Post's losses have come to foes that are currently ranked in the top 25:  LIU Post (#1), Merrimack (#16), and Southern New Hampshire (#10).
  • The Eagles have outscored their opponents 45-20 overall and 31-9 against CACC competition, including the conference tournament. During the regular season, Post outscored its conference foes 29-8.
 
The Post University men's soccer team will play in its first NCAA Tournament game when it travels to UMass-Lowell Friday night against the host River Hawks. The contest at Cushing Field is slated for 7 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for students with valid ID and $2 for children ages 2-12.
 
The Eagles enter their first East Regional as the fifth seed and will square off with fourth-seeded UMass-Lowell. Post is led into the match by two-time CACC Coach of the Year Ted Haley, CACC Player of the Year Joe Baccielo and CACC Rookie of the Year Raphael Moura. Additionally, Baccielo, Moura and senior Errol Reid were named to the CACC All-Tournament Team.
 
Post, the two-time CACC Regular Season Champions, appeared in the CACC Tournament Finals for the second time in as many years on Sunday. With the Eagles trailing second-seeded Dominican 1-0, Baccielo scored the equalizer with 9:38 remaining in regulation. The tally came on a set piece, and Baccielo was positioned at the far post when he headed the ball into goal.
 
Notes:
Last Time Out: #25 Post 1, Dominican 1 (Dominican wins on PKs 3-2)
The #25 Post University men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw in the CACC Tournament Finals against Dominican on Sunday afternoon at LaMoy Field. The Eagles dropped a penalty kick shootout 3-2 as the Chargers claimed the 2012 CACC Tournament Championship.
 
After it fell behind 1-0, Post (13-3-5) junior Joe Baccielo, scored the equalizer on a set piece off a feed from classmate Jon Dzurilla. The 14th goal of the season for the CACC Player of the Year, he tied the score at 1-1 at the 80:22 mark.
 
The two teams went to a shootout after a pair of scoreless overtime periods. After two rounds of penalty kicks and Dominican (10-5-4) holding a 1-0 lead, junior Krzysztof Giezek evened the score at 1-1. Freshman Francisco Sastre tied the shootout at 2-2, but it was followed up by a Manuel Valencia tally to give the Chargers a 3-2 advantage.
 
Clean Sweep Of Conference Honors:
Post swept all three major awards at the 2012 CACC awards banquet on Thursday. Junior Joe Baccielo was named the CACC Player of the Year, freshman Raphael Moura was named the conference rookie of the year and for the second straight season eighth-year head coach Ted Haley was named the league's coach of the year. Additionally, five Eagles were named to the All-CACC First and Second Teams, including three first team choices.
 
Baccielo finished the regular season ranked second in the CACC in points (34) and third in the conference in goals (13). He also tied for second in the conference in assists with eight. Nationally, Baccielo sits ninth in total points, 12th in total goals, and 15th in points per game and 22nd in goals per game. During the regular season, Baccielo was named the CACC Player of the Week on Sept. 24, and ECAC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25.
 
The CACC Rookie of the Week on Oct. 15, Moura was tabbed as the conference's top rookie this season after he tallied five goals and one assist. He tallied three game-winning goals on the year including two in consecutive games against Caldwell (Oct. 11) and Chestnut Hill (Oct. 13).
 
Haley led his squad to a national ranking for the second consecutive season as Post was no. 25 in the country in each of the last two weeks. As a team, the Eagles are ranked in the top-25 in the country in four statistical categories. Post is 11th in total assists (42), 14th in total points (132), 18th in save percentage (0.823), 21st in total goals (45.0),
 
All-CACC honorees included Baccielo (First Team), Kevin Ipina (First Team), Errol Reid (First Team), Gustavo Ferreira (Second Team) and Ani Lekaj (Second Team).
 
Back-to-Back Regular Season Championships:
After its unbeaten CACC Regular season, Post clinched its second straight regular season title on Friday, Oct. 26, with a 3-0 win over Nyack. Last season, the Eagles clinched the title with a 1-0 overtime victory over Holy Family on Oct. 22, after a goal by Francis Eno with 12 seconds remaining in the contest. Post was the top seed in the conference tournament, which it lost in the championship match.
 
High-Octane Offense…:
At the conclusion of the regular season, Post outscored its opponents 43-19 overall. On the year, the Eagles won six matches by three goals or more. Post is ranked 24th nationally in scoring offense with an average of 2.39 goals per game.
 
Assisted By A Sound Defense:
In those six three-goal victories, the Eagles' defense has recorded five clean sheets. As a team, Post has notched eight shutouts on the year, good for 26th in the NCAA in shutout percentage (0.44).
 
CACC Scoring Disparity:
After the regular season ended, which included 11 conference contests, Post outscored its opponents 29-8. As a team, the Eagles averaged 2.64 goals per game and allowed just 0.73. In those matches, Joe Baccielo led Post with eight goals and Francis Eno added five.
 
Conference Leaderboard:
Three Post players rank in the top-three in six statistical categories in the CACC. Joe Baccielo stands second in points with 36 and is third in goals with 14. Baccielo and Kevin Ipina are tied for second in the CACC in assists with eight apiece. Defensively, Errol Reid leads the CACC in save percentage (.852), goals against (nine), and goals against average with a mark of 0.70.
 
On the National Scene:
In the latest NCAA statistics report, which includes matches through Nov. 4, Baccielo and Ipina rank in the top-40 in five scoring categories. Baccielo is 10th in total points (34) and 11th total goals (14), 22nd in points per game (1.71), 23rd in total assists (eight) and 34th in goals per game (0.678). Ipina is 23rd in total assists (eight).
 
National Rankings:
For the second consecutive season, the Eagles were nationally ranked in the NSCAA/ Continental Tire NCAA Division II Top 25. On Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, Post was ranked #25 in the country, and fourth in the East Region. Last year, the Eagles were ranked as high as no. 18 after they started the season 5-0-4.
 
All-Time Series With UMass-Lowell:
Post and UMass-Lowell have met just once in the Eagles' Division II history. They left Lowell with a 3-1 victory over the River Hawks on Oct. 21, 2009.
Previous Results:
10/21/09…..............A………............W, 3-1
 
Scouting The River Hawks:
UMass-Lowell, which is receiving consideration in the latest NSCAA National Poll, advanced to the NE-10 semifinals before it dropped a 2-0 decision to Southern New Hampshire. The squad is led by Homero Morais who has tallied 12 goals and five assists and Bruno Bonicontro has added eight goals and five helpers to the River Hawks' offense. Defensively, Chris Maierle has logged all 1,744:08 between the pipes with three clean sheets. He has allowed 29 goals in 19 contests.
 
The Last Meeting With UMass-Lowell:
The Eagles and River Hawks have met once at Cushing Field Complex, and Post earned a 3-1 victory on Oct. 21, 2009. Errol Reid earned the win in goal and made seven stops. Eltany Morais netted an insurance tally in the 81st minute to arrive at the final score.
 
In The All-Time Record Books:
On the active roster, Post boasts three of the top-four goal scorers in the program's Division II history. Senior Francis Eno sits second all-time with 28 tallies, junior Joe Baccielo is third with 21 goals and senior Eltany Morais is ranked fourth with 16 goals. The trio is chasing Eurica Trowers who netted 32 markers in his collegiate career from 2006-08.
 
CACC And ECAC Recognition:
During the regular season, the Eagles have amassed 10 CACC and ECAC awards. Post swept the CACC Player and Rookie of the Week awards on Oct. 15, while it earned both awards from the ECAC on Sept. 25 and Oct. 16. Complete award winners for the CACC awards listed at the left. ECAC award winners listed below.
-Francis Eno – 9/18 – Offensive POW
-Joe Baccielo – 9/25 – Offensive POW
-Errol Reid – 9/25 – Defensive POW
-Kevin Ipina – 10/16 – Offensive POW
-Andre Lindsay – 10/16 – Defensive POW
 
Preseason Prognostications:
The Post men's soccer team was pegged as the favorite to win the CACC in the preseason poll, which was announced by conference officials on Aug. 22. The defending regular season champions, Post was awarded four first-place votes and 127 points by the league's 12 head coaches.
 
Oh Captain, My Captains:
In advance of the 2012 season, Post head coach Ted Haley named junior Kevin Ipina and senior Korab Muaremi the 2012 team captains.
 
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