WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The Catholic men's soccer team plays host to fifth-seeded Drew in the Landmark Conference Championship this upcoming weekend. This marks the Cardinals 11th appearance in the Landmark Conference Championship and the program's seventh trip to the championship game in the last eight tournaments.

The Cardinals hold a 15-7-4 all-time record in the Landmark Conference Tournament and have won the most conference titles in the Landmark with seven while the next closest school had three. Catholic has won the conference championship in four of the last five tournaments, including last season when it knocked off top-seeded Juniata, 2-1.

The Body of Work

The Rangers played to a 9-5-3 record in the regular season while going 4-4-1 in conference play to earn the fifth seed in the Landmark tournament. Drew picked up a 2-0 win over Goucher in the First Round of the tournament and followed up with a thrilling win over top-seeded Scranton in the semifinals, taking the Royals down in PK's, 5-4, after drawing 1-1 throughout the 90 minutes and overtime. 

The Cardinals completed an unbeaten regular season by going 11-0-6 including a 6-0-3 mark in conference play, extending the program's Landmark unbeaten streak to 39 games, dating back to 2021. Catholic handled its business in the semifinals of the tournament against sixth-seeded Lycoming, winning in convincing fashion, 3-0, to advance to the championship.

Scouting the Rangers

Drew is making its 13th appearance in the Landmark tournament this season after missing the postseason last year. The Rangers have won two Landmark Conference championships, most recently in 2017. It is the program's third appearance in the conference championship. 

The Rangers are fourth in the conference in goals this season with 28 and are tied for fifth in goals allowed with 21. Ignacio Martinez is the main threat offensively for Drew, leading the team in goals (5) and he is tied for second on the team in assists (3). He is tied for third in the conference in points with 13. Matt Munoz has also been a goal scoring threat with four on the season and James Cahill has been a key distributor with a team-high four assists which is tied for third in the Landmark.

Donovan Friedhoff has been in goal for Drew the majority of the season, totaling a record of 7-4-3 with 56 saves and a goals against average of 0.98. His GAA ranks fourth-best in the conference and he has tallied three shutouts on the season.

Offensive Prowess 

The Cardinals have one of the most potent offenses in the Landmark this season led by senior forward Holden Woodings, who is the top scorer in the conference once again with nine goals. His 19 points are also the best in the league and he ranks 12th in the country in shots on goal per game and 19th in shots per game. Seth Michalak, Carson Shamoo, Azaria Tewodros and Donik Elshani have also provided goals for the Cardinals consistently throughout the season. Ben Zimmer leads the conference in assists this season with six which is also tied for the fifth most in a single season in DIII program history. Shamoo ranks behind him in the conference in assists with five, tying him for the 10th most in DIII program history in a single season.

Historic Run of Defense 

Catholic has only surrendered nine goals thus far this season, which is the second fewest in the conference as they also have the 11th best team goals against average at 0.500. Owen Allegro ranks 18th in the country in GAA at .544 with six shutouts and 33 saves on the season. The Cardinals defense is headlined by Ellington Andrews, Graham Leary, Corey Magro and Charlie Paparella.

The nine goals allowed by the Cardinals marks the only season with single digit goals allowed since at least 1995 as it is the fewest goals allowed by the team in that same time span.

Series History

In a series that dates back to October 8, 1995, Catholic holds an 8-1-2 record all-time against Drew, including this season's regular season match up that the Cardinals earned the victory in, 3-0. Michalak scored twice in the win with Woodings adding the other goal. This will be the fifth meeting between the two programs in the conference tournament as the Cardinals hold a 4-0 record against the Rangers in the tournament. 

The last time the two met in the postseason was a thrilling match in the semifinals in 2023 where Catholic prevailed in double overtime, 3-2. This will mark the second time the programs have met in the Landmark Championship, the last one coming in 2021 when the Cardinals defeated the Rangers 2-0.

Match Details

The championship will kick off between the Cardinals and Rangers on Saturday, November 8 on Carlini Field at 3:30 pm. The winner will earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with the Selection Show taking place on Monday, November 10.

Tickets for Saturday's championship game can be purchased by using the link HERE.