The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Soccer team takes the #1 seed into Wednesday's East Coast Conference Championship Tournament, hosting #4 University of Bridgeport in the semifinals at Spartan Field in Sparkill, with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 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. Through the final week of the regular season, St. Thomas Aquinas was ranked #4 in the latest United Soccer Coaches East Region poll, which was released on Tuesday morning.
Bridgeport opened the 2021 season going 0-2-2 to start the year, but went 4-4-3 in their next 11 matches to keep within reach of a postseason berth. In their regular season finale, the Purple Knights clinched the final spot in the tournament with a 3-0 victory over the College of Staten Island. UB comes into the matchup holding a 5-6-5 overall record and a 5-2-2 mark in the ECC.
The Match-Up - In the lone meeting of the season to date, the teams battled to a 1-1 draw on October 23 (recap, boxscore, video) at Knights Field in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The high-paced affair was a defensive struggle with quality scoring chances at a minimum until Amaan Aslam's marker with just 28 seconds remaining in the first half, putting STAC up 1-0. Bridgeport would tie the game in the 62nd minute on a Wariebi Jituboh goal. Despite a 4-0 shots advantage by the Purple Knights through 10 extra minutes of play, neither team would be able to break the stalemate and each side would walk away with a valuable point in the standings. Asier Vegas made one save in the STAC net, with Clement Anet stopping four shots for the hosts.
Players to Watch - The Spartans were among the best defensive teams in the conference, led by standout goalkeeper Asier Vegas (8-2-2, 0.98 goals against average, .786 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). Jesse Clark's six goals (13 points) was the team-high for Bridgeport, while Clement Anet (5-4-5, 1.02 goals against average, .769 save percentage) anchors the Purple Knights in net.
What's Next? - Wednesday's other semi-final sees #2 seeded District of Columbia (8-5-3, 5-1-3) traveling to #3 Molloy (9-6-3, 5-2-2) in a 7:00 pm start on Long Island. The winners of those semi-finals will advance to the Tournament Championship game on Saturday, November 13, at the highest remaining seed with start time to be determined.
Live Video/Stats - The semifinal matchup between the Spartans and Purple Knights will be broadcast LIVE via the ECC Network and the Spartan Sports Network, with Marc Ernay and Nikolai Busko bringing fans all of the action from Spartan Field. 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 Wednesday'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).