Official Championship Page
INDIANAPOLIS – The spring playoffs kick off tomorrow at four different campus sites around the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship bracket, all hoping for a chance to advance to the final four in Columbus, Ohio.
The four winners will make their way to Ohio Dominican University as the Panthers are set to host both men’s and women’s round of semifinals and the championship contest next week.
But first, the opening-round quarterfinals are awaiting for the top eight seeds by virtue of their conference point totals in the standings during the spring season.
No. 8 Walsh vs. No. 1 Ohio Valley
The undefeated Fighting Scots secured the regular season conference title relatively early and go into their final tour of the postseason as a league member with a top 5 national ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Two of the best point scorers will face off in this one as OVU’s Juan Hoyos (20 points) will line up against Walsh’s Patrick O’Halloran (16 points). The Fighting Scots haven’t been pushed to overtime this spring; they have three players with two game winning goals apiece not named Hoyos including Luiz Neto, Vicente Forment (league leader in assists with 5), and Logan Bellone. Walsh and Ohio Valley are two of the top scoring offenses in the league with 25 goals from the Fighting Scots and 24 from the Cavaliers. The final score was close in their regular season meeting in a 3-2 final. Walsh scored twice in the second half to put the pressure on the OVU on the road.
No. 5 Ohio Dominican vs. No. 4 Lake Erie
Lake Erie was the top seed in Super Region 3 in the 2019 NCAA postseason and still retain plenty of firepower in Saturday’s matchup vs. a hot Panthers squad that has won three straight. Carter Patchett is coming off a hat trick vs. Malone and previously, Ohio Dominican dispatched of conference playoff teams Tiffin and Walsh for key points coming down the stretch. Ayden Von Essen was billed conference player of the week earlier this spring and he has carved out a team-leading 14 points with a balanced five goals and four assists. He also has led the conference in shots per game and shots on goal as one of the top offensive playmakers. ODU keeper Harry Castella has saved 80 percent of his shots faced and made 44 saves while his counterpart in net, first team all-conference keeper Tom John, is making over four saves per game.
No. 6 Findlay vs. No. 3 Tiffin
Just like the women’s matchup, it will be the Oilers vs. Dragons vying for a spot in the semifinals after recently playing each other towards the back end of the regular season. Tiffin is looking to recapture some of its magic from the 2019 conference tournament held in Dayton at Chaminade Julienne HS while the Oilers are in the postseason for the third time in four seasons. UF’s David Hug had a hat trick earlier in the spring and has racked up seven goals so far while Tiffin’s Juan Rosique is third in the conference in points with 17. Tiffin had the slight upper hand on Findlay on April 17 as the game winner was put away in overtime. Again, two programs familiar with each other’s physical style of play and the keepers will be put to the test with the dynamic goal scorers from each side. Caleb Gibbons was one of the stars from Tiffin’s conference title run in 2019 and he has two game winners this spring to his credit. Josh Hales is another threat and he has 10 points (3 G, 4 A) in nine games.
No. 7 Kentucky Wesleyan vs. No. 2 Cedarville
Cedarville is one of the best teams in Super Region 3 and if there was a regional in the spring, the Yellow Jackets would be right in the mix once again. After advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship bracket in 2019, the Yellow Jackets are ready to make more noise with their quarterfinal opportunity against the upstart Panthers. Kentucky Wesleyan is back in the postseason field for the first time since 2016 and have been of the sport’s most successful stories around the league. Goalkeeper Lucas Daunhauer tied for the league lead in saves with 55 and was third in save percentage while earning conference player of the week. Julian Gonzalez was second in the conference in points (18) and tied for the league lead in goals (9). Cedarville is wanting redemption after being edged by Tiffin in the conference tournament final in 2019 – the Yellow Jackets have received three goals and three assists from Pedro Alvares.