Posted: Nov 03, 2015

SLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament Preview

This SLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament kicks off this week and features Fontbonne University, Greenville College, Webster University, and Westminster College.

Tournament At A Glance
The 2015 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament begins this week with semifinal games on Wednesday, November 4 and the championship game on Friday, November 6. The tournament field will include Fontbonne University, Greenville College, Webster University, and Westminster College. Wednesday's semifinal games will be held at Fulton, Mo. and Greenville, Ill. with the championship game held at the highest remaining seed's home site.

Semifinals - Wednesday, November 4
Game 1 - #1 Westminster hosts #4 Fontbonne (Fulton, Mo.) at 7 p.m.
Game 2 - #2 Greenville hosts #3 Webster (Greenville, Ill.) at 7 p.m.
Championship Game - Friday, November 6
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, at higher seed
Collegecasts Championship Game Broadcast Link

	Fontbonne University "Griffins" Fontbonne slipped into the final spot into the tournament thanks in large part to winning their final three games of the regular season. Fontbonne finished the regular season with a 9-10 overall record and a 6-3 record in the SLIAC, tying for fourth place in the standings. Facing a must win scenario last weekend the Griffins answered and have now won six of their last seven games. The Griffins are second in the league in goals scored, with 47, and averaged 15.9 shots per game. The Griffins attack is led by sophomore Alex Phillips, who has 25 total points including 12 goals this season. Phillips also leads the conference in game-winning goals with four. Defensively the Griffins ranked in the middle of the pack in goals allowed with 35. In net the Griffins rely on sophomore Jordan Alberici, a 1.46 goals-against average with 58 saves and three shutouts.
	Greenville College "Panthers" Greenville grabbed the #2 seed in the tournament going 7-2 in conference play and finishing 10-9 overall in the regular season. This season has seen the Panthers with a couple of long runs in the win/loss columns. After opening the year 1-6 the Panthers won nine of their next ten games before dropping their final two games of the regular season. Greenville ranked third in the conference in scoring with 43 goals and average 15.2 shots per game. Freshman Jonny Madrid has made an immediate impact for the Panthers, leading the team with 13 goals and six assists; ranking second in the conference with 32 total points. Another freshman, Ian Hodge, has been the leader in net for the Panthers. Hodge holds a 1.97 goals-against average with 58 saves and three shutouts. The Panthers ranked sixth in the league in fewest goals allowed with 32.
	Webster University "Gorloks" Webster was 8-9-2 overall and 6-2-1 in the SLIAC this season, earning the #3 seed in the tournament. The Gorloks shook off a slow start to the season, where they went 1-7-2, to make their eighth consecutive tournament highlighted by winning their final three regular season games. Webster ranked third in goals scored this season with 43 and averaged 16.8 shots per game, second best in the SLIAC. It has been a balanced attack for the Gorloks this season with seven players netting at least three goals this year. Leading the way are freshmen Zach Gyuricza with eight goals and Filip Delija with seven goals. Freshman Alex Bergmann has started the last two games for the Gorloks while junior Zach Horn saw the majority of action during the season.
	Westminster College "Blue Jays" Westminster ran the board this year in conference action, going 9-0, and are 15-2 overall as they enter the postseason. The Blue Jays enter the tournament on a six game winning streak, all shutouts. The led the conference in goals scored with 75 and allowed a league low 10 goals this season. The Blue Jays potent attack averages 24.1 shots per game while they have put 53-percent of their shots on goal. Junior Tripp Sheehan leads the team with 12 goals and 14 assists for a league leading 38 total points. Drew Cook, also a junior, totaled 10 goals while a total of 15 players recorded multiple goals this season for the Blue Jays. The defense has been just as impressive, recording 11 shutouts this year thanks to a back line that includes senior Daryl Doran and junior Raul Belman in net. Belman holds a 0.66 goals-against average with 45 saves and is the program's career and single season leader in both wins and shutouts.

Championship Notes

Fontbonne is making their conference high 20th appearance in the SLIAC Tournament.
Webster has won four SLIAC Tournaments, with their last coming in 2012.
Greenville is looking for their first tournament title since 2011 and have won three overall.
Westminster is looking to become the first team to win three consecutive SLIAC Tournaments.
Greenville is making their 14th SLIAC Tournament appearance and will host a first round game for the first time since 2010.
Fontbonne has won four SLIAC Tournaments in program history, with the last coming in 2006.
This marked the first time in three years Webster did not grab at least a share of the regular season title.
Westminster went 9-0 in the SLIAC this season, marking the first time a team won every conference game since 2007 when Principia College also went 9-0.
Fontbonne went 0-3 against the tournament teams during the regular season.
Greenville was 1-2 versus the teams in this year's tournament.
Webster finished 2-1 during the regular season against the tournament field.
Westminster was 4-0 against the tournament field this year.

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