HAMILTON, N.Y. (11/19/08) - The Colgate University men's soccer team will take on Boston College on Friday, Nov. 21 in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Boston College's Newton Campus Soccer Complex.
Tickets to the first-round game are $7 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under. Tickets may be purchased online at
http://bceagles.cstv.com or tickets will be available at the gate the day of the game.
The game will be webcast through CBSsports.com All-Access starting at 5 p.m. There is no charge to view the game. A link to the video can be found on the Colgate Athletics Web site. CBS's Gametracker will also offer live stats for the first round game.
The Raiders will be making their second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament after winning the Patriot League Tournament in both 2007 and 2008 for the automatic bid. Last year Colgate faced Big East opponent, the University of South Florida, falling to the Bulls 2-1 in the first round of tournament play.
"It's great to be playing in the Northeast against one of top programs in the ACC," stated Colgate head coach Erik Ronning. "We will have our hands full. We are playing well right now and I think we can represent the Colgate and the Patriot League very well. We are looking forward to the challenge."
Colgate enters the tournament with a 12-5-3 overall record and a four-game win streak after defeating Lafayette 2-0 in the semifinals of the conference tournament and Holy Cross, 2-1 in the final. The Raiders are 3-4-2 on the road and have shut out their opponents a total of 10 times this year.
Junior Alex Weekes (Stroudsburg, Pa.) leads the Raiders in points (21) and goals (8), scoring both goals in Colgate's title win. Weekes was also named Patriot League Tournament MVP and was selected to the conference all-league second-team. Sophomore Steven Miller (Ivyland, Pa.) follows with 15 points coming from six goals and three assists, while Chris Ross (Hurst, Texas) adds five goals and two assists for 12 points. Sophomore Jeff Leach (New Canaan, Conn.) has a team-high six assists after tallying two during the conference tournament.
Senior David Cappuccio (Pittsford, N.Y.) holds a 9-3-3 record this season with seven shutouts, 0.71 goals against average and a .857 save percentage. His career 23 shutouts is the most of any goalkeeper at Colgate and places him third for all-time Patriot League. Seniors Glenn Volk (Lexington, Ky.) and Daniel Kerley (Leawood, Kan.) lead the Raiders defense, which has held its opponents to just 14 goals all season and have a 0.67 goals against average. The two seniors were both selected to the all-league teams.
The Eagles earned an at-large bid in the tournament this year as one of six Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams vying for the championship. The ACC is sending the most teams of any conference to this year's tournament.
Boston College enters the tournament 10-7-2 overall and 4-3-1 at home. Leading the Eagles' attack is senior midfielder Alejandro Bedoya with 16 points coming from six goals and four assists. Freshman Edvin Worley follows with four goals and five assists for 13 points. BC has great scoring depth with 13 other players contributing at least one point this season. Senior goalkeeper Chris Brown recorded four shutouts this year and has 1.01 goals against average and .667 save percentage.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Colgate and the Eagles, but they shared two common opponents this year in Duke and Holy Cross. Duke, along with Boston College is a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Holy Cross is a member of the Patriot League. Colgate and Boston College both fell to the Blue Devils in 1-0 losses this season. The Eagles then lost to the Crusaders 1-0 at home on Oct. 28. The Raiders fell to Holy Cross 1-0 during regular season play, but defeated them 2-1, for the Patriot League Tournament title.
The winner of Friday's match will face Dartmouth on Tuesday, Nov. 25 in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dartmouth earned a first-round bye this year. A full and interactive bracket for the 2008 Division I Men's Soccer Tournament can be found
here.