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Saturday, Nov. 9 – 11 a.m. No 1. Post vs. No. 3 Philadelphia WU Athletics Complex – New Castle, Del. Coverage: Live Stats | Live Video

 
WATERBURY, Conn. – The Post University men's soccer team will be looking for its first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship on Saturday afternoon as its plays third-seeded Philadelphia at 11 a.m. at the Wilmington University Athletics Complex. The Eagles advanced to the title game in each of the past two years, but have come up empty both times. Their last CACC Tournament Championship came in 2008. Philadelphia has never played in the championship game.
 
Both teams advanced to Saturday by way of penalty kick victories in the semifinals. Post and Wilmington tied 1-1 after overtime, but the Eagles took the shootout 4-2. The Rams defeated Dominican on a PK shootout 5-3.
 
Last Time vs. Philadelphia: No. 13 Post 2, Philadelphia 1 (2OT) – Box Score | Recap
Sophomore Francisco Sastre (Sao Paolo, Brazil) scored his sixth goal of the season 57 seconds into the second overtime period to give the No. 13 Post University men's soccer team a 2-1 victory on Oct. 13 against Philadelphia. Senior Jon Dzurilla (Torrington, Conn.) dribbled past two defenders on the right side of the penalty area and passed it ahead to Sastre on the left side to setup the game-winning goal. Sastre kicked it to the right side of the goal for the score.
 
Senior Joe Baccielo (Stratford, Conn.) launch a long throw towards goal in the 19^th minute. Junior Terrell Whitting (Naugatuck, Conn.) had his header deflected and senior Jean Louis Cadet (Sunrise, Fla.) found the back of the net to put the Eagles in front 1-0. Post committed a foul just outside the penalty area in the 86^th minute to setup the tying goal. David Lawrence curved a low ball to the right side of the net for the score.
 
Eagles in the CACC Tournament
Post has made the CACC Tournament in each of head coach Ted Haley's nine seasons in Waterbury. During that time the Eagles are 11-6-3 and have won two games and lost another in penalty kicks. Post has advanced to the championship game in each of the last three seasons, but has come up short the last two. Haley has coached the Eagles to the title game five times in his career and won in 2008. Last season Post and Dominican were tied 1-1 after overtime and the Chargers took the championship 3-2 on penalty kicks.
 
Scouting the Rams
Philadelphia comes into the game with an 11-7-2 record overall and were 7-4-1 in conference play to earn the third seed. The Rams defeated Chestnut Hill 1-0 in the opener and advanced to the title game on a 5-3 PK victory over second-seed Dominican on Wednesday. Philadelphia had three players named All-CACC this season led by first-teamer Angelo Dambalas who was second on the team with four goals including the winning tally against Chestnut Hill in the opening round.
 
All-Time Series vs. Philadelphia
Post is 4-1-2 all-time against the Rams and is unbeaten in the last three matchups between the two teams. The last two games both went into double-overtime, including a 2-1 victory by the Eagles earlier this year.
Results
10/13/13……………..H…………W, 2-1 (2OT)
9/15/12……………....A…………T, 3-3 (2OT)
10/15/11…..................H...….........W, 1-0
10/2/10……................A....……....L, 1-0
9/26/09..…..................H..…..........W, 2-0
9/22/08…....................A……........W, 3-2
 
Bringing Home the Hardware
The Eagles had eight players named to the All-CACC team in 2013, led by two-time player of the year Joe Baccielo. Jean Louis Cadet, Kevin Ipina, Ani Lekaj, and Andre Lindsay were also named to the first team. Raphael Moura, Francisco Sastre, and Krzysztof Giezek all made the second team. Ted Haley was named CACC Coach of the Year for the third-consecutive season. Moura also received the Top XIV Award for having the highest GPA of the four teams at the championship site.
 
Clean Sheets For Lindsay
Senior goalkeeper Andre Lindsey (Clarendon, Jamaica) has allowed just 10 goals this season and recorded shutouts in nine of Post's victories and shared a shutout against Felician. He leads the conference in goals against average (0.37), shutouts (9), and save percentage (.884). Lindsay is third in the nation in save percentage and second in goals against average.
 
Creating Chances
Post has outshot its opponents 236-151 this season. The Eagles held a 16-11 advantage last time out against Nyack. Post does most of its damage in the first half as it holds a 120-60 shot advantage in the opening period this year.
 
Defending The Prize
The Eagles have one of the top defenses in the country. Post leads the nation in save percentage at 0.902 and goals against average at 0.34. Post has allowed just 10 goals all season and are ranked second shutout percentage (0.64) with nine on the year.
 
Jumping Into The National Spotlight
The Eagles are currently ranked No. 5 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll released on Nov. 5. It is the highest ranking for any team in school history. It marks the sixth week this season Post is ranked in the Top 25. The Eagles have been regionally ranked in the top four all season.
Previous NSCAA Rankings
Date – National, Regional
Sept. 10 – No. 12, East: No. 2
Sept. 17 – East: No. 4
Sept. 24 – Receiving Votes, East: No. 4
Oct. 1 – No. 15, East: No. 2
Oct. 8 – No. 13, East: No. 2
Oct. 15 – No. 9, East: No. 2
Oct. 22 – No. 15, East: No. 3
Oct. 29 – No. 6, East: No. 1
Nov. 5 – No. 5, East: No. 1
 
Accolades From The Conference
Post has had multiple members of the team honored by the conference this season. Most recently, Joe Baccielo and Andre Lindsay were named Co-Player and Defense Player of the Week, respectively, on Oct. 28. On Sept. 9, Raphael Moura was selected as Co-Player of the Week and Lindsay was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Week. Lindsay was also named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 9. Francisco Sastre was named conference player of the week on Oct. 7. Terrell Whtting was named to the Honor Roll on Oct 20.
 
Home Sweet Home
Post is unbeaten in 27 of its last 28 home games. The Eagles are 23-1-4, have outscored opponents 66-13 and posted 11 shutouts over the stretch. The lone defeat during the stretch came against Chestnut Hill on Sept. 15. Post is also unbeaten in 21 of its last 22 regular season conference games.
 
Baccielo Breaks Scoring Record
Senior Joe Baccielo scored three goals on Oct. 8 against Felician to surpass Maurice Johnson to become the all-time leading point-scorer in Post men's soccer history. He now stands at 77 career points. Baccielo surpassed Eurica Trowers with 33 career goals on Oct. 29. He is three back of Johan Pineda with 15 career assists. Senior Kevin Ipina sits at 11 career assists, seven back of the record.
 
Eagles Against Nationally Ranked Opponents
Post is 2-0 against NSCAA Top 10 teams this season. The Eagles defeated No. 7 Southern New Hampshire 1-0 on Sept. 5 to open the season. Post was victorious on Oct. 23 against No. 1 LIU-Post 1-0. They are the first two wins the Eagles have ever had against ranked opponents.
Previous Results
10/23/13 – vs. No. 1 LIU-Post – W, 1-0
9/5/13 – at No. 7 Southern New Hampshire – W, 1-0
10/23/12 – at No. 2 LIU-Post – L, 3-1
9/29/12 – at No. 15 Southern New Hampshire – L, 4-1
 
Tough Slate Ahead
The Eagles will play a 16-match schedule that features matchups with five of the top eight teams in the East Region in 2012 and three NCAA Tournament participants. Post opens the season on the road against Southern New Hampshire on Sept. 5. On Sept. 25, Post plays Dominican on the road in a rematch of the 2012 CACC Championship game.  LIU-Post makes its first-ever appearance at LaMoy Field on Oct. 23. The Pioneers were ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Poll after beginning the 2012 season 12-0-0.
 
Preseason Prognostications
The Post men's soccer team was tabbed to finish first in the CACC in the Preseason Poll released on Aug. 20. The Eagles received seven first-place votes and 157 points as voted on by the league's 13 head coaches.
 
On The Horizon
The Eagles will be looking for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA announces the field on Monday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.