News Release

Men's and Women's Soccer Teams advance to NCAA Tournament

Salem, VA � The men�s and women�s soccer teams will advance to the NCAA Tournament announced Monday morning. This marks the first time in school history that both teams have not only been in the NCAA�s, but hosted in the NCAA Tournament. It�s the fifth NCAA Appearance for the men while the women earned their second NCAA-berth.

For the men�s team, it will be the fourth time in seven years and their first time since 2004 that Roanoke advanced to the NCAA Tournament, which recently expanded to 57 teams. The Maroons, (12-7-1) earned their berth after winning the ODAC Tournament last weekend. As a #4 seed, the men defeated Randolph-Macon, 4-2 on penalty kicks, #23 Virginia Wesleyan, 2-1 in double overtime and Washington & Lee, 2-0 to capture their eighth ODAC Title. The eight titles are tied for second all-time in the ODAC. The men are currently 4-2-1 in their last six games. The men are ranked fifth in the latest D3Kicks South Region Poll.

The Maroons are led by senior Eric Eversole, who is the team leader in points (34), goals (14), game-winners (5) and assists with six. Junior Michael Rouhana ties Eversole in assists with six on the season. Fellow junior Shaman Douglass is second on the team in scoring (15) and goals with seven. Senior Austin Rose has 42 saves on the season and is 11-7-1 in 19 starts this season with four shutouts.

Overall, the Maroons have enjoyed success though playing such a tough schedule. They are 6-5 vs. regionally ranked opponents, including 2-1 vs. nationally-ranked opponents. They finished the season with a 7-1-1 record in their first season in Donald J. Kerr Stadium. The 44 goals, 32 assists, 120 points and 306 shots and 150 shots on goal are the most in a season since 2004.

The men will host Greensboro College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Donald J. Kerr Stadium. The Pride, who finished 13-4-3, is ranked seventh in the NSCAA/Adidas South Region Poll and 12th in the D3Kicks South Region Poll. They defeated #4 Messiah, 1-0 in the first game of the regular season. They fell to NC Wesleyan, 2-1 in double overtime during the regular season, but gave the Battling Bishops their first loss of the season, 1-0 in the USA South Semifinals. They earned their 14th NCAA-bid winning their conference championship. This marks the third-straight and the 13th time in 15 years that Greensboro has reached the NCAA Tournament. They have won more than 10 games during the last 15 seasons. Coach Bill Brady, who is in his third season (35-20-7), has moved himself into fifth all-time in total wins at GC.

The Battling Bishops leads the all-time series, 6-3. Greensboro has won five of the last six matches and has not played each other since 2003. Seven of the nine games played in the series have been decided by a goal, two by either overtime or penalty kicks. Neither team has scored more than two goals in a game during their nine meetings.

Last Meeting: Greensboro 2, Roanoke 0
The South's top two teams met at Macperson Stadium, but Greensboro took a 2-0 victory at home. Just 3:46 into the match Ben Maxwell scored to put GC ahead, 1-0. On the scoring play, freshman defender Samuel Hale played a long ball and Maxwell beat Maroon goalkeeper Harper Thorsen to the ball. Maxwell chipped the ball over Thorsen and into the goal. In the 20th minute The Pride scored the game's final tally. Pride goalie Matt Brown booted a long ball that the freshman Galen Reid captured. Reid then got behind Thorsen and put the ball past the goal line. Roanoke outshot the home team, 11-9. Brown recorded four saves and Thorsen stopped two GC shots.

The Pride is led by senior midfielder Eric Hatchett, who leads the team in scoring (26) and goals (11). He is followed by sophomore Jay Wyatt, who is second in goals (8), points (23) and leads the team with seven assists. Junior goalkeeper Kurt Gardiner has an 11-2-2 record with 64 saves and eight shutouts on the season. Sophomore midfielder Andrew Clark leads the team with four game-winners on the season in addition to six goals and assists apiece. Senior captain Robert Fricke has pitched in seven goals and four assists on the season, including two-for-two on penalty kicks.

The men�s 2007 NCAA Tournament Bracket is ahttps:////www.ncaasports.com/soccer/mens/brackets/viewable/straight64_dyn/2007/DIII

The women, who are making their second NCAA Appearance in school history, are currently 17-3-1 on the season. The 17 wins mark the most in school history, along with goals, shots and shots on goal. The Maroons earn an at-large bid among the 60 teams to their first NCAA-bid in 10 years. They finished the year ranked second in the NCAA South Region Poll, sixth in the NSCAA/Adidas South Region Poll and third in the D3Kicks South Region Poll. The Maroons recently climbed into the D3Kicks Top-25 on Monday at 24th.

Roanoke was selected as a first and second round host with Methodist scheduled to play the host Maroons on Saturday at 5 pm. The winner will face the winner of Maryville (17-4-1) and Lynchburg (16-3-3) on Sunday at 6 pm.

Junior Kristen McCoy is leading the team in goals (14) for the third-straight season. She has scored 13 or more goals in each of her three seasons. She is also second in scoring (29). She is ranked third all-time in goals (40) and is sixth in scoring (91pts). This season, McCoy injured her knee in the season opener. She missed the next four games and has bounced back to earn her first hat trick of the season, scoring all three goals in a 3-0 victory over Emory & Henry (Oct. 9).

Junior Meredith Grunewald leads the Maroons in assists (11) and points (29). This season, she was named ODAC Player of the Week (Oct. 22). The midfielder had her first hat trick of her career against Hollins (Oct. 17). Grunewald scored the game-winner in double-overtime vs. Washington & Lee on Oct. 20 to secure a #2 seed in the ODAC Tournament. She is currently second all-time for single-season assists with 11. Grunewald has led the team in assists over the last three seasons. She is currently ranked fourth all-time in career assists (22), needing only five to break the school record.

Fellow junior Tami Alcalde andsophomore Margaret Houston have brought some added scoring punch this season. Alcalde currently has six goals and two assists on the season. Houston has nine goals and one assist on the year to increase the offensive explosion this fall.

Methodist (17-4) earned the team's second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament after receiving an at-large bid last season. The Monarchs earned a trip to the NCAA�s by winning their first USA South Tournament Championship in program history. The Monarchs reached the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in school history.

Methodist is 6-2 on the road and finished undefeated (9-0) in conference play. The women are led by Chrystal Bradley with 42 points, 16 goals and 10 assists. Whitney Roberson leads the team in goals (17) and game-winners with four. She is second in assists (6) and points (40). Hevyn Diers has 16 goals and six assists for 38 points on the season. Kasey Nichols has an 11-4 record, with seven shutouts and 59 saves on the season. She has a 0.73 goals against average, which is third in the USA South, along with a .843 saves percentage (2nd).

The Monarchs lead the all-time series, 10-2-1 in 13 meetings. Head Coach Tony Tommasi is in his second season at Methodist with a 33-8-2 record and two-straight NCAA-berths.

For a complete version of the women�s soccer tournament bracket visithttps:////www.ncaasports.com/soccer/womens/brackets/viewable/straight64_dyn/2007/DIII

Submitted 2007-11-05 17:27:46 by Roanoke College Sports Information Department

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