ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's soccer team will make its sixth consecutive appearance in the Empire 8 Championship at 7 p.m. on Friday when the second-seeded Bombers take on the third-seeded Houghton College Highlanders in Hoboken, N.J.  Stevens Institute of Technology, which earned the championship's top overall seed and the right to host will face off with fourth-seeded St. John Fisher College at 4 p.m. in the other semifinal.  The winner of each semifinal will duke it out at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the title game.

Fans unable to make the journey to Hoboken can still follow all of the action this weekend using the links below:

LIVE STATS     LIVE VIDEO STREAM    FOLLOW THE BOMBERS ON TWITTER

In the meantime, check out some fun facts to get you up to speed before kickoff.

WHAT'S ON THE LINE: Well…a lot.  Whoever wins the Empire 8 Championship will receive the conference's automatic bid into the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, which is slated to begin November 12 with first round action.  The Bombers, who have played in the title game in three of the last four seasons, are looking to claim their first conference title since sharing the crown with Stevens in 2012.  Ithaca, however, has not appeared in the NCAA championship since 2008.

STEPPING IT UP IN CONFERENCE: Since taking over the program in 2015, head coach Patrick Ouckama has guided his team to a 12-3-1 record in conference play.  Last season, Ithaca hosted the conference championship after going 6-1 in the Empire 8 standings.   This season, the Bombers finished with a 5-1-1 mark against conference competition. 

HE'S A KEEPER: Senior Zach Jacobsen has been a staple in goal over the last two season for the Bombers.  Since transferring to Ithaca, Jacobsen has won 13 games and posted 11 shutouts.  He has been recognized as the Empire 8 and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week a combined seven times including two this season and was named Second-Team All-Conference at the conclusion of his junior season. Entering the weekend, Jacobsen is 7-6-1 with a 1.34 goals against average and a .729 save percentage.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: No one player on Ithaca will overwhelm you with his stat line, however, as a team, the Bombers have distributed the ball well this season.  10 of the team's players have registered at least one point overall with senior Sam Boylan leading the way with 16 points on five goals and a team-high six assists.  Alexander Brosnihan has 11 points to his name while both Kevin Turi and Nathan Schoen have nine points apiece. 

EXPERIENCE MATTERS: The Bombers may boast one of the youngest teams in the conference with 19 of their 28 players being either freshmen or sophomores, but that doesn't mean this will be their first rodeo.  Every player on the roster has played in at least one Empire 8 title game with the six seniors having played in two during their four years in an Ithaca uniform.   
  
SCOUTING STEVENS: The Ducks earned the championship's top overall seed by virtue of a 1-0 win over Houghton on Saturday.  Entering play, Stevens boasts a 11-5-1 overall mark which includes a 6-1-0 mark against Empire 8 opponents.  Against this year's championship field, the Ducks are 2-1 with their only loss coming in a 1-0 road loss at Ithaca.  Stevens posted the top overall scoring offense in the conference this season at 2.41 goals per game and allowed 1.06 goals per contest, which was the second-lowest mark in the Empire 8.  Daniel Aversano leads the way for the Ducks offensively with seven goals and six assists for 20 points.  Patrick Masur and Tommy Dorsay have combined to add 27 points. 

In goal, Mitko Bozinov and Aaron Henry have split time with Bozinov playing to an 8-2-0 record.  Henry leads the team with a 0.68 goals against average and a .828 save percentage. 

SCOUTING HOUGHTON: The Highlanders bring a 10-3-4 mark into this weekend's competition along with a 4-1-2 standing in conference play.  Houghton features five players to have eclipsed the 10-point plateau led by Landon Sheaffer's 18 points on seven goals and four assists.  Ben Lawrence finished the regular season with six goals and six assists while Andrew Bussey led the conference with eight assists to his credit.  Offensively, Houghton ranked second among conference schools after averaging 2.24 goals per game.  On the defensive end of the pitch, the Highlanders led the conference after holding opponents to 0.76 goals per contest this season.

Jacob Dunnett started all 17 games in goal for Houghton and notched double digit wins for the second time in his four-year career.  The senior keeper led the conference in goals against average (.586), save percentage (.846), and shutouts with six.  
     
SCOUTING FISHER: Led by Jeff Meyers' 12 points on six goals, the Cardinals earned the final seed in the four-team tournament with a 3-3-1 mark in conference play and a 5-9-2 overall record.  Fisher, which is making its first appearance in the championship since 2012, ranked fifth overall in the Empire 8 in scoring at 1.31 goals per game during the 2016 campaign.  Fisher also allowed the third-most goals per game of any conference team at 1.81 per match.  Fisher will take on Stevens in the semifinals on Friday having lost to the Ducks earlier this season, 4-1, at home.

In goal, Joe Catalfamo has started all 16 games and played in over 1,400 minutes.  The sophomore finished the regular season with a 73 saves and a .716 save percentage. 

As always, stay up-to-date with all the action by following the Bombers on Twitter - @BomberSports.