LEXINGTON, Va. — After winning the Landmark Conference Championship for the sixth time in program history last weekend, the Catholic University men's soccer team will head south to Washington & Lee for its NCAA Tournament First Round match-up.
The Cardinals were the last team announced during Monday afternoon's NCAA Tournament Selection Show. When their name was finally called, the squad learned where they would be headed and who their first-round opponent would be: A Saturday afternoon clash with No. 23 SUNY Oneonta.
The Red Dragons will prove to be a formidable opponent for the Cardinals after posting a 14-3-3 record this season en route to an appearance in the State University of New York Athletic Conference title game. Oneonta fell to No. 6 Courtland in the championship match by a single goal, causing them to sweat it out on Selection Monday as they were the final at-large team announced.
The Body of Work
The Red Dragons dropped matches to just two different opponents this season. Oneonta fell to Brockport and Courtland during the regular season before avenging the loss to No. 19 Brockport in the semifinal of the SUNYAC Tournament. Oneonta spun its wheels a bit at the end of the regular season, recording three straight 1-1 draws before entering post-season play.
Catholic, on the other hand, saw its difficulties come in during the non-conference slate. The Cardinals went an unbeaten 7-0-2 in Landmark play but dropped six matches outside of conference play. Four of Catholic's losses came to ranked teams, all four of which join the Cardinals in the NCAA Tournament field of 64.
A Common Opponent
Courtland marks a common opponent for the two teams as Catholic traveled north to do battle with Steve Axtell's side early in the non-conference season. The Cardinals conceded in the third minute before battled back to equalize courtesy of Ben Zimmer midway through the second half, but then-ranked No. 10 Cortland scored again five minutes later to secure a 2-1 victory.
Oneonta fell to Courtland 3-0 in early October before the two teams met again in the championship, where Courtland, now ranked No. 6 in the country, dispatched the Red Dragons 1-0 to lift the trophy.
Coaches Spotlight
The battle between Catholic and Oneonta will bring two vastly experienced coaches together in the technical areas on Saturday as Travis Beauchamp and Iain Byrne combine for nearly 40 years of head coaching experience in their current programs.
Byrne's resume is an impressive one as this year marks his 21st season at the helm in Oneonta. The native South African has led the Red Dragons to 11 NCAA Tournaments and three Final Fours. Impressively, over the last 12 years, Oneonta has only missed the NCAA Tournament one time.
Beauchamp has developed a similar legacy of success in his 17 seasons at Catholic, leading the program to six Landmark Conference championships and eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including appearances in each of the last four. The Cardinals reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history last season after defeating Lynchburg and Christopher Newport on the first weekend of the tournament.
Attacking Prowess
Catholic will be led offensively by free-scoring senior Gordie Bernlohr.
He led the Landmark Conference with 14 goals and ranks in the top five nationally with seven game-winning goals. Bernlohr's clutch goal-scoring showed through in the Landmark Conference Tournament, when the senior netted the game-winning goal in both the semifinal and final en route to being named tournament MVP. He also added four assists and scored four braces this season, earning him conference offensive player of the year honors.
As a team, Catholic scored the second most goals in the conference (41) and was one of two sides to average more than two goals per match (2.05). Bernlohr is supported by a pair of Loyola Blakefield products who play in the midfield. First-team all-Landmark player Domenico Caltabiano has registered nine goals contributions and has the uncanny ability to pick a decisive pass while Ryan Kelly has come on strong down the stretch. Kelly has scored five goals and provided a team-high six assists, having dished out two assists in three separate matches this season, including in the thrilling double-overtime semifinal win over Drew.
It's more of a balanced attack for coach Byrne's team. The Red Dragons averaged 1.90 goals per game and just 1.67 in conference play while conceding just 13 goals in 20 matches this season. Oneonta only scored more than one goal once in its final six matches.
Four Red Dragons have nine or more goal contributions on the season. Luigi Prosperi leads the line with nine goals that have all come from open play while the trio of Ali Somow, Ian Zingaro and Milton Mancias Magana all pride themselves on creating chances as well as finishing them of themselves. Somow leads the Red Dragons with 12 total goal contributions split evenly with six goals and six assists while Macias Magana has five goals and five helpers. Zingaro, one of two players to start all 20 matches for Oneonta, has four goals and five assists.
Building from the Back
The match could be a cagey one with Catholic's stout defense. Coach Beauchamp has utilized a back five often this season but has maintained the ability to switch to a back four.
All three of Catholic's center backs earned all-conference honors this week as the powerful duo of Mudi Jagha and Owen Maher were named to the first team. Newcomer Maxim Pencak made the list as an honorable mention while freshman goalkeeper Owen Allegro was named Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year and took a spot on the second team.
Allegro allowed just 21 goals in 19 matches, making 57 saves and contributing to six clean sheets. Catholic deploys a pair of very attacking wing backs who pride themselves on effectiveness going forward as well as in defense. Liam Giblin and Andrew Lowman hold down those positions while Luke Lillis and Corey Magro provide good minutes off the bench in those same areas.
The Red Dragons are led in the back by Dillon Kelly. The sophomore has started every match for coach Byrne, leading all players with 1,700 minutes played. John Bernardi and Derek Marques are also key members of the back line and each have pitched in with two goals apiece on the offensive end. Oneonta have kept nine total clean sheets this campaign and did not concede a goal for over 395 minutes of game time to begin the season.
Nate Hanna is the outright first choice in between the sticks for coach Byrne, having contributed to all nine Red Dragon clean sheets. He boasts a brilliant goals-against-average of .65 and has made 60 saves, including seven to keep his team in the conference championship match until the final whistle.
Match Details
The match is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Washington & Lee's Alston Parker Watt Field. The winner will meet the victors of the earlier match that sees Western Connecticut battle the hosts. The second-round match is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. with the right to advance out of the pod on the line.
The winner of the Lexington pod will meet the winner of the Medford regional that is hosted by Tufts. The Jumbos will welcome Bridgewater State, Rochester (N.Y.) and Johnson & Wales (Providence) this weekend.
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