TOURNAMENT PORTAL | TICKETS | NCAA BRACKET

ITHACA, N.Y. – For the first time since 2008, the Ithaca College men's soccer team will be playing in the NCAA Tournament after earning an at-large bid earlier this week.
 
The Bombers will head to Keene State for a pod against the owls, Amherst and Thomas (Maine). Ithaca opens up the tournament with a 3:30 p.m. match against the host team and the winner will advance to Sunday's 3 p.m. game against the winner of Amherst/Thomas.
 
ITHACA VS. REGIONAL FIELD
 
The Bombers have faced Keene and Amherst just one time in program history and have never had a soccer match against Thomas. Ithaca defeated Keene, 4-2, in the 2007 season-opener and have not faced the Owls since. Ithaca played Amherst in 1997 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Amherst came away with the 2-0 win over IC.
 
SCOUTING AMHERST
 
The Mammoths are currently 14-1-2 on the season and finished out the NESCAC slate with a 8-0-2 record. Amherst was ousted from the conference tournament by Middlebury, as it suffered a 1-0 loss to the Panthers, but also earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Amherst and the Bombers have two common opponents this season – Hamilton and Merchant Marine. The Mammoths defeated Hamilton, 3-0, and Merchant Marine, 5-0. IC defeated Hamilton, 1-0, and fell to Merchant Marine, 2-1.
 
The Mammoths are led by German Giammattei, who has scored 20 goals and notched four assists for a total of 44 points. Dane Lind has scored seven goals and recorded a team-high 10 assists while Ignacio Cubeddu has five goals and three assists on the year. Bernie White has started 14 games for Amherst this season, allowing just seven goals while making 47 saves and notching three shutouts.
 
SCOUTING KEENE STATE
 
The Owls are currently 15-6 on the season after winning the Little East title by defeating Eastern Connecticut State, 1-0. Keene State rounded out the Little East regular-season slate with a 6-2 record.
 
RPI is the lone common denominator between IC and the Owls. The Engineers defeated Keene State on October 9, 3-1.
 
Emmanuel Smith is the offensive leader for the Owls, as he has scored 12 goals and recorded 10 assists for a total of 34 points on the season. Connor Downey has tallied 8 goals and two assists while James McCully has scored six goals with one assist. In goal, Anthony Pasciuto has started 14 games for Keene State, allowing 21 goals and making 55 saves with one shutout on the year.
 
SCOUTING THOMAS
 
The Terriers are currently 10-8-1 overall and finished out the North Atlantic Conference regular-season slate with a 7-1 mark. Thomas defeated Maine Maritime, 4-1, to win the NAC and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
IC and the Terriers have no common opponents this season.
 
Eric LaBrie leads Thomas with 11 goals and two assists for 24 points on the season. Zenawki Bowen has scored 10 goals and six assists for a team-high 26 points while Woodlin Placide and MacQuille Walker have each scored six goals on the season.
 
ITHACA VS. 2019 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD
 
The Bombers have faced off with three NCAA-bound teams this year: fellow Liberty League members RPI and Hobart, as well as Messiah. Ithaca beat all three teams this season.
 
IC defeated Messiah – which was ranked No. 5 at the time – 1-0, in the second game of the season. The Bombers went on to defeated eventual Liberty League champion Hobart, 1-0, on October 2 and closed out the regular season with a 1-0 win over RPI, which was ranked No. 8 at the time. John Villanueva has played in 14 games for the Terriers, starting nine in goal. He has allowed 19 goals and made 40 saves.
 
ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS
 
The Bombers have a program record of 9-13-3 in the NCAA Tournament. Most recently, IC was defeated, 1-0 in overtime, by Johns Hopkins in the opening round of play. Ithaca's most successful run in the NCAA Tournament was in 1996 when the team advanced to the Final Four. The following year, in 1997, the Bombers made a return trip to the tournament, advancing to the Elite 8.
 
THE 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP
 
The NCAA Division III men's soccer championship consists of a field of 64 teams. Forty-two conference received automatic bids while one team was selected from Pool B, which is made of independent institutions as well as members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. The final 21 berths consist of Pool C teams, which includes institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that did not win their conference championship and any remaining Pool B teams.
 
All tournament games leading up to the national semifinals will be played on the campuses of the competing institutions. Sixteen sites will host four teams for first-and second-round competition Nov. 15 and 16 or 16 and 17.
 
Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites Nov. 22 and 23 or 23 and 24.  Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the national semifinals, which take place Dec. 6 at UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina, with UNC Greensboro and Greensboro Sports Commission serving as hosts. The national championship game will be played Dec. 7.
 
TICKETS
 
Tickets will be sold at the venue prior to each game or game be purchased online. Adult tickets will cost $6, students and seniors will cost #3 and children ages three to 12 will be $2.