CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The 2010 America East Men’s Soccer Championship kicks off on
Saturday with two exciting quarterfinal matchups. The first game begins at 5
p.m., with the No. 3 Stony Brook Seawolves hosting the No. 6 Vermont
Catamounts. In the other quarterfinal match up, the No. 4 Binghamton Bearcats
host the No. 5 New Hampshire Wildcats at 7 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex.
The winners of the quarterfinal round games will advance to the semifinals on
Wednesday, Nov. UMBC will host the winner of the Stony Brook vs. Vermont matchup,
while Boston University will host the winner of Binghamton vs. New Hampshire.
With so many teams fighting for seeding on the final day of
conference action, there was a great amount of excitement and intrigue. UMBC
clinched a first-round bye and home field in the semifinals with an impressive
1-0 win at Stony Brook. Due to the loss, the Seawolves lost the opportunity for
a bye, but still earned a home game. In a preview of the quarterfinal match,
Binghamton clinched the No. 4 seed and the right to host when it knocked off
New Hampshire 1-0 in double-overtime. Vermont locked up the No. 6 spot when it
defeated Hartford 2-0 in a game that ultimately decided the final spot in the
conference tournament.
In its matchup during the regular season, Stony Brook
(9-6-3, 3-2-2 America East) and Vermont (7-7-4, 2-4-1 America East) played to a
scoreless draw in Burlington, Vt. Stony Brook sophomore goalkeeper Stefan Manz
put together an outstanding individual performance, making nine saves to ensure
the tie for the visiting Seawolves. This will be the second meeting between
these teams in the conference tournament, with Stony Brook winning the first
match up in a shootout.
There will be a great sense of familiarity when Binghamton
(6-6-4, 3-2-2 America East) hosts New Hampshire (7-5-5, 2-3-2) on Saturday
night. These teams met in the regular season finale, with Binghamton pulling
out a 1-0 win in double overtime. The game-winning goal came courtesy of redshirt-freshman
midfielder Tommy Klim, who scored off a header to clinch the No. 4 seed for the
Bearcats. These teams met in the 2008 conference tournament, with Binghamton
securing a 3-1 win at the Bearcats Sports Complex.
Stay tuned to Championship Central for complete coverage
throughout the men’s soccer championship.