FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WINTHROP, Mass. – After going an unblemished 11-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play this fall, two-time defending GNAC Men's Soccer champion Saint Joseph's College of Maine is now 28-0-2 in GNAC play over the last three seasons. The Monks, who are ranked sixth and 10th in the D3soccer.com and United Soccer Coaches national polls, respectively, will begin their conquest for a third straight GNAC title when it hosts eighth-seeded Emmanuel College at 7:00 PM on Friday, October 26.
All quarterfinal contests have been moved up to Friday due to an impending nor'easter. Second-seeded Johnson & Wales University will host seventh-seeded Regis College at 4:30 PM. Also on Friday, fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus will head to No. 4 Colby-Sawyer College (3:00 PM) and third-seeded Norwich University will host sixth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (CT) at 7:00 PM.
In Saturday's league regular-season finale, JWU earned a 5-1 victory over Anna Maria College to cement the No. 2 seed over Norwich, which claimed a 2-0 win over Suffolk University. Colby-Sawyer also earned a 3-2 double-overtime victory over Regis to nail down a home game next weekend, as the Chargers finish in the conference's top-four in their first year as a full GNAC core member.
Also on Saturday, Albertus earned an evening road win at Rivier University to jump USJ in the standings for the No. 5 seed. USJ, however, went an impressive 8-4-2 overall and 5-4-2 in GNAC play in the Blue Jays' first-ever season sponsoring a men's soccer program to capture the No. 6 seed. Regis lays claim to the No. 7 seed over eighth-seeded Emmanuel, both of which posted 4-5-2 GNAC records, because of the Pride's head-to-head road victory over the Saints back on September 11.
Each of the past two years, SJC has upended Norwich in the GNAC Championship after Norwich has taken down JWU in the GNAC Semifinals the last two seasons. This year in regular-season action, SJC defeated JWU, 3-1, and Norwich by a 3-0 score.
Be sure to catch all of the tournament action live on thegnac.tv or watch on one of our four custom digital streaming apps (broadcasts are produced by host institutions). Fans can also purchase GNAC co-branded and championship apparel through the conference's partnership with SquadLocker. For more information, please click HERE.
Friday, October 26 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: #8 Emmanuel at #1 Saint Joseph's of Maine - 7:00 PM
Game 2: #5 Albertus Magnus at #4 Colby-Sawyer - 2:30 PM
Game 3: #6 Saint Joseph (CT) at #3 Norwich - 7:00 PM
Game 4: #7 Regis at #2 Johnson & Wales - 4:30 PM
Tuesday, October 30 - Semifinals (at higher seeds)
Game 5: 4/5 winner vs. 1/8 winner
Game 6: 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner
Saturday, November 3 - Championship
Game 7: at highest remaining seed
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
– #TheGNAC –