WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's soccer team is set to host SUNY Cobleskill in the opening round of the 2019 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Men's Soccer Championship on Saturday, November 16 at Bruggeworth Field at 4:00 p.m.
 
Ticket prices are set by the ECAC and are as follows:
Adults: $5
Seniors: $3
Students: $2
Children Under Six: Free
 
Full ECAC Championship Bracket
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Live Stats
 
Wilkes enters with an 8-7-3 overall record and are the No. 2 seed in Pod 1. SUNY Cobleskill is the No. 3 seed, entering the tournament with a 9-6-4 overall record.
 
The Colonels are playing in the ECAC Tournament for the eighth time in program history and for the second consecutive season.  Head coach Michael Piranian brought the Colonels into the playoffs in his second season as head coach, falling to Grove City College in the first round of the ECAC last season 3-0. 
 
The Colonels had a pair of players named to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom teams this season.  Senior forward Kyle Bentz (Camp Hill, PA/Camp Hill) was named First Team All-MAC Freedom, while freshman midfielder Matthew Horwedel (Delanson, NY/Schalmont Senior) was named Honorable Mention All-MAC Freedom.  Bentz finished in the top ten of the MAC Freedom in several offensive categories, including finishing tied for eighth with six goals, sixth with 19 shots-on-goal, and fourth in points with 17.  He also earned MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week honors on September 30th of this season.  Bentz was a core part of an offense than finished third in the MAC Freedom with an average of 1.94 goals-per-game
 
Horwedel's all-conference award was also his first.  He finished tied for third in the conference alongside Bentz with five assists.  He proved to be a centerpiece of a defense that held opponents to a .083 shot percentage on the season and 1.28 goals-per-game.  The Colonels goalkeeper trio of sophomore Russell Rauh (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington Senior), sophomore Zach Tone (Easton, PA/Easton Area), and freshman Nick Kinzler (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) combined for a .807 save percentage as a squad, good for first place among all MAC Freedom teams.
 
The Fighting Tigers had five players named to the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) all-conference squads.  Senior defender Gregoire Diedhiou, senior forward Emile Vwaza, senior forward Mame Amar, and freshman goalkeeper Rashawn Best were named All-NEAC First Team, while senior midfielder Boubacar Doucoure was named to the third team.   The Fighting Tigers fell in the first round of the NEAC conference tournament against Lancaster Bible College.
 
Best was also named the NEAC Men's Soccer Rookie of the Year for his performance last season.  He allowed 13 goals in 14 games played to help anchor a defense that held opponents to 1.12 goals-per-game.   The Fighting Tigers offense was anchored by experience with senior forwards Emile Vwaza and Mame Amar.  Amar proved to be the spark for their offense, leading the team with 21 points and seven assists, while finishing in second with seven goals.  Vwaza finished with the team lead in goals with eight himself.
 
The teams have not played each other in the live stats era, but played two mutual opponents this past season.  Both squads went up against Penn College and Penn State Berks, with the Colonels coming away with victories against both while the Fighting Tigers defeated Penn College and tied with Penn State Berks.
 
In the other side of the pod, Stevenson University Mustangs (12-6-3), the number one seed in the pod and the number one overall seed in the ECAC Tournament, and the Westminster (Pa.) Titans (10-7-3), the number four seed in the pod, will play in the first game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.  The Mustangs reached the semifinals of the MAC Commonwealth, where they were defeated by Messiah College, currently nationally ranked at no. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.  The Titans reached the semifinals of the Presidents' Athletic Conference postseason tournament, where they were defeated by Geneva College.
 
The winner of Stevenson and Westminster (Pa.) will meet the winner of Wilkes and SUNY Cobleskill at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday at Bruggeworth Field for an ECAC quarterfinals showdown.