The top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team battles #3 Molloy College in the East Coast Conference Championship Final on Saturday at Spartan Field in Sparkill, with kickoff scheduled for 12:00 pm.
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How They Got Here - The Spartans wrapped up the regular season with a record of 9-3-3, the program's highest win total since 2018. With their 6-1-2 mark in conference action, the Spartans secured the the program's first regular season title and the #1 seed in the ECC Tournament, their first appearance since the 2018 season.
STAC defeated the #4 seed, University of Bridgeport on November 10 in the ECC Semifinal round of the tournament on a goal by Juan Pablo Cedeno Varea with just 3:51 remaining in the match to advance to Saturday's Final.
Molloy opened the 2021 season going 1-3-1 to start the year, but finished 8-3-2 in their next 13 matches to clinch the #3 seed in the tournament.
The Lions come into the matchup holding a 9-6-4 overall record and a 5-2-2 mark in the ECC, following Wednesday evening's thrilling semifinal win over #2 seed University of the District of Columbia. After a scoreless 110 minutes of play in Rockville Centre, Molloy took the match on penalty kicks in the eighth round of the shootout, 5-4.
Through the final week of the regular season, both teams are ranked in the latest United Soccer Coaches East Region poll, which was released on Tuesday morning. St. Thomas Aquinas holds the #4 position in the region, while Molloy comes in at #9.
The Match-Up - In the lone meeting of the season to date, the teams battled to a 1-1 draw on November 6 (recap, boxscore, video) at the RVC Sports Complex Rockville Centre, N.Y. The high-paced affair was a defensive struggle with quality scoring chances at a minimum until Peter Meyer's PK marker in the 67th minute, putting Molloy up 1-0. STAC would tie the game in the 80th minute on a Jorge Umana goal off of an bobbled attempted stop of a cross-field pass by Lions keeper Nick Conklu. In extra time, each team would register two shots apiece, with STAC getting a quality opportunity in the first OT period, as Alexander Taylor would head a ball on net, only for it to be saved by Conklu. Molloy would get their chance to end the match in the second overtime stanza, with Peter Meyer booting a ball off of the crossbar. Neither team was be able to break the stalemate and each side would walk away with a valuable point in the standings to end their respective regular seasons. Asier Vegas made four saves in the STAC net, with Nick Conklu stopping three shots for the hosts.
Players to Watch - The Spartans were among the best defensive teams in the conference, led by standout goalkeeper Asier Vegas (9-2-2, 0.90 goals against average, .803 save percentage), while the balanced offensive attack is led by Anthony Boliver Sanchez's nine goals (22 points) and Jorge Umana's seven goals (21 points). Peter Meyer's six goals (14 points) was the team-high for Molloy, while Nick Conklu (7-5-3, 0.89 goals against average, .856 save percentage) anchors the Lions in net.
What's Next? - The winner of Saturday's championship final takes the ECC Men's Soccer crown and receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Live Video/Stats - The semifinal matchup between the Spartans and Lions will be broadcast LIVE via the ECC Network. Real-time Statistics will also be available at STACAthletics.com.
SPECTATOR INFORMATION
Please note the following policies in place for the ECC Men's Soccer Championship Tournament:
-Spectators are allowed to attend all tournament matches.
-Unvaccinated spectators attending Saturday's match at Spartan Field are recommended to wear a mask and social distance, when possible.
-All spectators in attendance (either on the field or outside at the fence line) MUST purchase a ticket via the ECC's digital ticketing service, HomeTown Ticketing.
TICKET INFORMATION
All Games
$8 - General Admission (ticket price raised to $10 starting at midnight the day of the game)
$4 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12
Free - All STAC Students (Discount Code to be emailed to STAC Email Account)
Children under 5 free for all games
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Cash will not be accepted so walkup tickets at the venue must be purchased through the ECC website (QR code will be available at the gate).