Press release written by Mitchell Coll

NEWARK, Del. - - For the third consecutive year, the Wilmington University men's soccer team received an at-large bid into the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Super Region 1 Tournament.

The Wildcats received the No. 3 seed in the Super-Region 1 bracket, and will host No. 6 Davis & Elkins on Saturday, November 20, for a Second Round matchup at the WU Athletics Complex starting at 12:00 p.m. This is the sixth time in program history that the Wildcats have made the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament, and record of third consective in program history. This will be the first time in program history that the Wildcats will be hosting a NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Super-Region 1 Tournament game.

Saturday's contest will be the first time that both teams have faced-off.  

The winner advances to play in the Third Round against the winner of No. 2 seed Charleston and the winner of the No. 7 American International/No. 10 Molloy first round matchup.

Tickets/Admission for NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Tournament:

Adults - $10.00 (CASH ONLY)
Senior Citizens/Children - $5.00 (CASH ONLY)
Wilmington University Students, Staff, and Faculty with valid ID - Free
Children under three year's old - Free

GPS Address for WU Athletics Complex:
1365 Pulaski Highway
Newark, DE 19702

Links to Follow the NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Tournament:

Live Stats: https://wildcats.athletics.wilmu.edu/sports/msoc/2021-22/boxscores/20211120_aawq.xml
Live Video: https://caccnetwork.com/wilmington/?bfplayvid=325350

NCAA Division II National Tournament Links:
NCAA Division II National Tournament Bracket: https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/soccer-men/d2/2021
NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Home Page: https://www.ncaa.com/sports/soccer-men/d2
2021 NCAA DII Men's Soccer Championship Selection Show: https://www.ncaa.com/news/soccer-men/article/2021-11-15/2021-ncaa-dii-mens-soccer-championship-selections-announced?utm_campaign=inline-superpage
NCAA Division II Digital Program: https://www.ncaa.com/DIIMensSoccer

Scouting the No. 3 Wilmington University Wildcats:

The Wildcats have earned their first ever home matchup in the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Wildcats are making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament since joining the NCAA ranks for the 2004 season. All sixth berths have been of the at-large variety.

In the latest United Soccer Coaches DII National Poll, which came out on November 9, Wilmington was ranked No. 13, being as high as No. 9 in the country this year. They are also ranked 2nd in the latest United Soccer Coaches East Region Poll, dating back to November 9.

The Wildcats finished tied for first in the CACC Regular Season earning the second seed for the CACC Tournament. The men faced off with No. 7 Felician in the quarterfinals of the CACC Tournament, where they defeated the Golden Falcons, 6-0, at the WU Athletics Complex. Wilmington then faced No. 3 Dominican in the semifinals, but fell, 2-0, to the CACC Tournament's runner-ups.

Shawn Genus is the CACC leader and ranks second nationally in goals this year with 20, along with fourth in goals per game (1.00), second in points (46), and fifth in points per game (2.30). Hakim Williams is second on the team with 20 points, ranking fifth in the CACC with eight goals. Defensemen Carson Talboys and Richard Thompson are tied for third on the team with 14 points as Talboys has six goals and two assists and Thompson has two goals and a team leading 10 assists. His 10 assists are tied for second in the CACC.

On the back line for the Wildcats, Carson Talboys, Paul Young Jr., Richard Thompson, Ellis McSharry and Chavez Brooks have helped CACC Goalkeeper of the Year, Konstantinos Parisis out by allowing a .851 goals against average and only 17 goals against this year.

The Wildcats earned three major award winners this season for the CACC, while placing seven student-athletes on the All-CACC teams. Carson Talboys picked up CACC Defensive Player of the Year. Richard Thompson was named CACC Rookie of the Year. Konstantinos Parisis earned CACC Goalkeeper of the Year, as Nick Papanicolas earned CACC Coach of the Year for the third year in a row. 

Scouting the No. 6 Davis & Elkins Senators:

The Senators are enjoying an impressive season filled with a lot of checkmarks in the win column at 17-1-2 overall, matching their most wins since the 2007 season. Under the direction of second-year head coach Dean Johnson, the MEC Coach of the Year, the Senators have found success with an unbeaten regular season. Their season started on a red-hot winning streak with 10 straight victories, including a 1-0 win against the #1 ranked team at the time, their conference foe, Charleston. Charleston eventually evened the season series with a 4-1 win over the Senators in the MEC Tournament Final.

On the field, the Senators are led by junior forward standout Daniel Cerezo, the MEC Offensive Player of the Year. He has a habit of finding the back of the net with 12 goals and four assists, good for 28 points.

Also joining in on the attack is junior midfielder Haruki Yamazaki, who was named to the MEC First Team, with three goals and five assists. Another distributor for the Senators, David Jara (MEC First Team) led the team in assists on the season with seven, along with five goals.

On the defensive side, they are led by senior goalkeeper Jeremy Coste who enjoyed a MEC First Team selection, and rightfully so. Coste helped the Senators defense post a .559 GAA which ranks second in the country, only trailing No. 1 ranked Franklin Pierce. Individually, no other keeper across all three divisions of NCAA men's soccer has posted more shutouts than Coste, with 13 out of 20 games played.  He also ranks fourth in the country in GAA at .532.

Helping Coste on the defensive side are sophomore defender Gianluca Fiorini and freshman defender Martin Lago. Fiorini was awarded first-team honors, who has tied Jara for the lead in assists with seven and also added three goals. Lago enjoyed Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors and was good for five points on the season as a defender with a goal and three assists.

Wilmington in the NCAA Division II Super Regional 1 Tournament:

2009 (0-1): No. 3 Southern New Hampshire def. No. 2 Wilmington, 1-0 (2OT)
2013 (1-1): No. 6 Wilmington def. No. 3 Post, 2-1 (2OT); No. 1 Southern New Hampshire def. No. 6 Wilmington, 3-0
2015 (1-1): No. 6 Wilmington def. No. 3 Adelphi, 4-3, (OT); No. 1 LIU Post def. No. 6 Wilmington, 6-0.
2018 (1-1): No. 5 Wilmington def. No. 4 Le Moyne, 4-1; No. 1 Adelphi def. No. 5 Wilmington, 2-1.
2019 (0-1): No.  4 Franklin Pierce def. No. 5 Wilmington, 1-0

Overall: 3-5

Season and All-Time Records vs. NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Opponents:

No. 1 Franklin Pierce University Ravens: 2019 – L 1-0; All-Time – 1-3 (last: 2019)
No. 2 University of Charleston (W.Va.) Golden Eagles: 2021 – DNP; All-Time – 0-0 (never played)
No. 3 Wilmington University Wildcats
No. 4 Millersville University Marauders: 2021 – vs. W 2-1(OT); All-Time – 7-3-2 (last: 2021)
No. 5 Gannon University Golden Knights: 2021 – vs. W 2-1; All-Time – 1-0 (last: 2021)
No. 6 Davis & Elkins College: 2021 – DNP; All-Time – 0-0 (never played)
No. 7 American International College: 2021 – DNP; All-Time – 0-2 (last: 2006)
No. 8 Lock Haven University: 2021- DNP; All-Time – 1-1 (last: 2009)
No. 9 Post University Eagles: 2021 – vs. L 1-0 ; All-Time – 8-11-6 (last: 2021)
No. 10 Molloy College: 2021 – DNP; All-Time – 2-0-1 (last: 2006)

2021 NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Tournament Game Schedule:

(at Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, New Hampshire)
Thursday, November 18
No. 8 Lock Haven (13-3-2) vs. No. 9 Post (12-5-1) – 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Video
Saturday, November 23
No. 1 Franklin Pierce (19-1) vs. No. 8 Lock Haven/No. 9 Post winner – 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Video

(at Millersville University, Millersville, Pennsylvania)
Saturday, November 20
No. 4 Millersville (15-5) vs. No. 5 Gannon (16-3-2) – 1:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Video

(at University of Charleston (W.Va.), Charleston, West Virginia)
Friday, November 19
No. 7 American International (14-4-1) vs. No. 10 Molloy (9-6-5) – 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Video
Sunday, November 21
No. 2 Charleston (17-1-1) vs. No. 7 American International/No. 10 Molloy winner – 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Video

(at Wilmington University, Newark, Delaware)
Saturday, November 20
No. 3 Wilmington (16-3-1) vs. No. 6 Davis & Elkins (17-1-2) – 12:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Video