NEWARK, Del. - - The 2019 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Regular Season Championship remained with the Wilmington University men's soccer team for the second straight year, and now heads into the CACC Tournament as the No. 1 Seed with a First Round game on Monday against eighth seeded Concordia at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Wildcats won the Regular Season by virtue of an 10-1-1 record, officially capturing the title with a 3-0 victory against Goldey-Beacom with one game remaining to play. They finished out the regular season with a 5-0 win at Concordia on November 2, the team they will face in the First Round on Monday. It is the fourth overall CACC Regular Season Championship for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 16-1-1 overall record. Concordia claimed the eighth seed with a 7-10 overall record, going 6-6 in the CACC. They will be looking for their second ever CACC Tournament Championship, with the 2007 team standing as the only men's soccer team to claim the postseason tournament.
Tickets/Admission for CACC Tournament:
Adults: $8.00
Children and Senior Citizens: $4.00
Children under the age of three: Free
Wilmington University Faculty/Staff/Students with valid student ID: Free
Links to Follow the CACC Tournament:
Live stats vs. Concordia: http://athletics.wilmu.edu/sports/msoc/2019-20/boxscores/20191111_wifu.xml
Video vs. Concordia: http://caccnetwork.com/wilmington/
CACC Tournament Central: https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/Championship/MSOC
Scouting the No. 1 Wilmington University Wildcats:
The Wildcats are one of the top teams in the country, ranked No. 8 in the latest United Soccer Coaches National Poll and tied for third in the latest NCAA Men's Soccer Super-Region 1 Poll. Statistically, they have the best offense in all of NCAA Division II, averaging 4.56 goals per contest, leading the country with 82 goals, 67 assists, and 231 points. They also lead the country in averaging 7.61 corner kicks per game, and 9.67 shots on goal per game.
Leading the offensive charge is redshirt junior Lorne Bickley, who broke the Wilmington University and CACC single season record with 24 goals in the regular season, currently leading all of NCAA Division II. His 24 goals are seven more than anyone else in the country. He is also first in the country in points per game (2.72), total points (49), and goals per game (1.33). He is also third in the country in averaging 2.56 shots on goal per game.
But the Wildcats are more than Bickley on the attack, as senior Abdul Mansaray is second in the CACC and ninth in the country with 14 goals on the year. Mansaray's 35 points are third in the CACC and sixth in the country as well.
Senior Fredrik Bentdal is second in the CACC and fourth in NCAA Division II with 10 assists on the year, dishing gout 0.59 assists per game. Shawn Genus can both score and hand out assists, as he is third on the team with 29 points, scoring 10 goals and adding nine assists. Ben Jordan is fourth on the team with 21 points, all while not starting a single game this year. He comes off the bench and has scored eight goals to go with five assists.
Although a center back on the Wildcats' back line, Joe Bell is fifth on the team with 16 points, scoring seven goals while adding two assists. Bell is a prime target on set plays, scoring several goals off corners and free kicks.
Bell also leads the defensive back line that has only allowed 14 goals on the year, good enough for a 0.76 goals against average. Gabriel Prgomet has started all 18 games in goal for the Wildcats, heads into the postseason with a 0.77 GAA (tops in the CACC) and a .754 save percentage. The combination of Prgomet, Bell, Elliott Johnson, Omario Rosen, Keith Sanderson, Callum McHale, and Ellis McSharry on the back line has led the Wildcats to eight shutouts this season.
Scouting the No. 8 Concordia College Clippers:
The Clippers come to Newark in a bit of a tail spin to end the regular season dropping four straight and going 1-8 in their last nine games. After winning five straight from September 21 to October 5, the Clippers dropped four straight CACC contests. They broke the streak with a 2-1 win against Georgian Court on October 26, but then ended the regular season with losses to Dominican, Wilmington, New York Tech and most recently Molloy on Thursday.
Junior forward Nemanja Zivanovic sparks the Clippers' offense behind a team-leading 14 goals, tied for the ninth-most in the country and second within the CACC, with a team-best five assists for 33 points overall that ties for ninth in the country and fourth in the league. Junior midfielder Alessandro Battaglia chips in six goals, with he and junior forward Dennis Limani match Zivanovic with two game-winning scores while senior defender Romardo Bigsby dishes out four assists.
In goal, junior Mikael Varin has stopped 56 shots with a 2.61 goals against average in 1276:26 minutes of action.
Wilmington in the CACC Tournament:
2004 (0-1): #5 Caldwell def. #4 Wilmington, 3-1
2005 (0-1): #3 Felician def. #6 Wilmington, 2-1 (OT)
2006 (0-1): #3 Post def. #2 Wilmington, 1-0
2007(1-0-1): #2 Wilmington def. #3 Caldwell, 1-0 (OT); #2 Wilmington tied #4 Holy Family 1-1, Wilmington wins CACC Championship, 5-3, in PK Shootout).
2008 (0-1): #4 Post def. #5 Wilmington, 1-0
2009 (1-0-1): #1 Wilmington def. #8 Goldey-Beacom, 2-0; #1 Wilmington tied #5 Bloomfield, 0-(Bloomfield advances, 4-2, in PK shootout)
2010 (0-1): #5 Post def. #4 Wilmington, 2-1 (OT)
2011 (0-1): #7 Nyack def. #2 Wilmington, 4-0
2012 (1-1): #5 Wilmington def. #4 Bloomfield, 3-2; #1 Post def. #5 Wilmington, 1-0
2013 (1-0-1): #4 Wilmington def. #5 Concordia, 3-0; #4 Wilmington tied #1 Post, 1-1 (Post advances, 4-2, in PK shootout)
2014 (2-1): #6 Wilmington def. #3 Concordia, 2-0; #6 Wilmington def. #2 Dominican, 2-1 (2OT); #1 Philadelphia def. #6 Wilmington, 1-0
2015: (1-1): #1 Wilmington Def. #8 Goldey-Beacom. 4-0; #4 Chestnut Hill Def. #1 Wilmington 2-1 (OT)
2016 (1-1): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Goldey-Beacom, 3-0; #2 Georgian Court def. #3 Wilmington, 3-2
2017 (0-1): #6 Post def. #3 Wilmington, 1-0
2018 (2-1): #1 Wilmington def. #8 Chestnut Hill, 3-0; #1 Wilmington def. #4 Jefferson, 2-1; #2 Post def. #1 Wilmington, 2-0
Overall: 10-12-3
Season and All-Time Records vs. CACC Tournament Participants:
#1 Wilmington University Wildcats (12-1-4, 9-1-2 CACC)
#2 Post University Eagles (11-3-3, 8-2-2 CACC) – 2019: T 1-1 (2OT); All-Time: 8-10-6; CACC Tournament: 0-6-1
#3 Holy Family University Tigers (10-7-1, 8-4 CACC) – 2019: L 2-0; All-Time: 13-1-3; CACC Tournament: 0-0-1 (won 2007 CACC Championship, 5-3, in PKs)
#4 Goldey-Beacom College Lightning (11-7, 8-4 CACC) – 2019: W 3-0; All-Time: 18-0-1; CACC Tournament: 3-0
#5 Georgian Court University Lions (8-9, 7-4 CACC) – 2019: W 8-1; All-Time: 6-2; CACC Tournament: 0-1
#6 Jefferson Rams (7-10-1, 7-5 CACC) – 2019: W 6-2; All-Time: 7-6-1; CACC Tournament: 1-1
#7 Dominican College Chargers (8-10, 6-6 CACC) – 2019: W 5-0: All-Time: 5-11-1; CACC Tournament: 1-0
#8 Concordia College Clippers (7-10, 6-6 CACC) – 2019: W 5-0; All-Time: 11-2; CACC Tournament: 2-0
2019 CACC Men's Soccer Tournament Game Schedule: Quarterfinals (Tuesday)
First Round (Monday, Nov. 11, at Highest Seeds)
#8 Concordia at #1 Wilmington (2 p.m.)
#5 Georgian Court at #4 Goldey-Beacom (2 p.m.)
#7 Dominican at #2 Post (2 p.m.)
#6 Jefferson at #3 Holy Family (2 p.m.)
Semifinals (Friday, Nov. 15, LaMoy Field on Post campus)
WilmU/Concordia Winner vs. Georgian Court/Goldey-Beacom Winner (11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.)
Post/Domincan Winner vs. Jefferson/HFU Winner (11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.)
*Highest remaining seed will play in the early game
Championship Final (Sunday, Nov. 17, LaMoy Field on Post campus)
Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner (10:00 a.m.)