2012 Men's Socer Tournament Preview

ST. LOUIS - The field is set for the 2012 St.  Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Men's Soccer Tournament. Webster University, Greenville College, Westminster College and Fontbonne University will all battle for the tournament crown, as semifinal action kicks off on Thursday, November 1. The championship game is slated for this Saturday, November 3.

Top-seeded Webster will host fourth-seeded Fontbonne at 7:00pm on Thursday. Webster (10-5-2) went 6-1-1 in SLIAC play and won their first regular season conference championship since 2006 and their fifth overall. Fontbonne (12-5-2) finished 5-3 in league play and dropped a 2-0 decision to Webster on October 23.

Greenville is seeded second in this year's Tournament and will host third-seeded Westminster at 7:00pm on Thursday. Greenville (10-5-3) went unbeaten at 5-0-3 in the SLIAC this season, with one of their three ties a 2-2, double overtime draw against Webster on October 27. Westminster (9-6-2) went 6-2 in conference play, winning their final two conference games to secure a spot in the tournament.

Webster is 14-12-0 in 15 SLIAC men's soccer tournament appearances. The Gorloks have claimed three SLIAC Tournament championships, with their last one in 2009 as the #2 seed. Webster was the #4 seed in last year's tournament and defeated top-seeded Westminster 1-0 before falling 2-0 to Greenville in the Tournament Championship.

Greenville is 9-8-2 in 11 SLIAC men's soccer tournament appearances. The Panthers, who are the defending Conference Tournament Champions, won back-to-back regular season conference championships in 2009 and 2010 and back-to-back tournament championships in 2010 and 2011. The Panthers have also played for the Tournament Championship in six of the past eight years and won the Tournament Championship in 2008 as the #2 seed, in 2010 as the #1 seed and in 2011 as the #3 seed.

Westminster is 1-12 in 12 SLIAC men's soccer tournament appearances, with its only tournament win in 2004 with a 2-0 victory over Greenville. The Blue Jays went on to lose to Fontbonne in the tournament final, 3-1.

Fontbonne is 15-11-2 in 16 SLIAC men's soccer tournament appearances. The Griffins have played for the Tournament Championship in five of the past eight years and won the Tournament Championship in 2004 as the #1 seed and in 2006 as the #4 seed. Fontbonne has played three double overtime games in the past two tournaments; they defeated Principia 1-0 in the semifinal game in 2010 and battled Greenville to a 2-2 draw in the championship that same year. In 2011, the Griffins lost a 1-0 overtime decision to eventual tournament champion Greenville.

SLIAC Men's Tournament Bracket:
Semifinals (Nov. 1)
#4-Fontbonne at #1-Webster, 7:00pm
#3-Westminster at #2-Greenville, 7:00pm
Championship (Nov. 3)
Semifinal winners, Site and Time TBA