NAZARETH TO HOST GENESEO IN FIRST-ROUND GAME
Golden Flyers (13-4-2) making second straight NCAA appearance
COMPLETE BRACKET | UPDATED STATS | GENESEO STATS

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Nov. 6, 2006) -- Nazareth's men's soccer team hosts its first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament game Wednesday as the Golden Flyers play SUNY Athletic Conference champion Geneseo at 1 p.m. at Golden Flyer Stadium.

Nazareth is making its second straight appearance in the 57-team field. NCAA Ticket prices are $6 for adults, $3 for students and seniors and $2 for children 12 and under.

Nazareth, at 13-4-2 overall, gained an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Empire 8 Conference championship Saturday with a 1-0 victory at RIT. Geneseo, at 14-4-1 overall, also gained an automatic bid by beating Fredonia, 1-0, in its conference title match.

The winner of Wednesday's game will play again Saturday at Medaille (20-1), which drew one of the tournament's seven first-round byes.

"We never really thought about hosting a game until we won the (conference) championship," said Nazareth Coach Danny Gilbertson, "but we know we've got great facilities and we're comfortable here. Playing at home is a breath of fresh air."

Nazareth came into last week's Empire 8 Tournament as the third seed and advanced to the final through penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie at Ithaca last Wednesday. RIT, meanwhile, came into the title match having posted six straight shutouts. The Golden Flyers were able to snap an RIT shutout streak that extended more than 650 minutes when freshman Philip Holmberg netted the game’s only goal in the 24th minute.

Senior Andrew Wirfel set up the play by crossing the ball into the penalty area and Holmberg drilled a low shot that eluded RIT keeper Alan Smith into the left corner for the decisive score.

RIT managed a couple of solid scoring chances in the second half, but senior goalie Alex Kilroy (pictured) made both of his saves to produce his sixth shutout of the season and the 17th of his career. Nazareth's 13th win of the season equaled a school record for victories, matching the team's 1988 total.

Kilroy played a key role in eliminating Ithaca in the semifinals. As the game moved to penalty kicks, Kilroy saved Ithaca’s fifth and final attempt to give Nazareth a 5-4 advantage. Nazareth had made all of its attempts – Ed Babcock, Christopher Lofgren, Holmberg, Jeremy Bergan and Scott Cavanaugh all were successful – before Ithaca’s final kick.

Babcock scored for Nazareth in the first half for a 1-0 lead, but Ithaca forced overtime by scoring with 2:36 left in regulation.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Nazareth had four players honored as first-team Empire 8 Conference all-stars in 2006, including sophomore sweeper Mohammed Ahamed (pictured), who was named the Defensive Player of the Year. He was joined on the first team by senior midfielders Ed Babcock (Geneseo HS/Geneseo, NY) and Scott Rigney (Keshequa HS/Nunda, NY) and senior goalie Alex Kilroy (Spencerport HS/Spencerport, NY). Second-team honors went to Holmberg (Malmo, Sweden) while sophomore forward Justin Stevens (Canisius HS/Derby, NY) and senior midfielder Scott Cavanaugh (Holley HS/Brockport, NY) were honorable mention choices.

Stevens leads the team in scoring with six goals and three assists for 15 points. Rigney has four goals and six assists and Babcock has five goals and three assists. Kilroy, a four-year starter in goal, has started all 19 games in 2006 and has 102 saves for a 0.98 goals-against average with six shutouts.

NAZARETH COACH DANNY GILBERTSON: Now in his third season, Gilbertson took over the Nazareth program from the late and legendary Doug May, who passed away in April of 2004 after a brief illness. A native of London, Gilbertson was an assistant coach at Hobart for four seasons before joining the Nazareth athletic staff. As a player, Gilbertson was a four-year starter at Plymouth State in New Hampshire and led the Panthers to three NCAA tournament berths. He earned regional All-American honors in 1998 and was a three-time Little East Conference all-star.

NAZARETH VS. GENESEO: Nazareth and Geneseo met in the first game of the season with the Golden Flyers prevailing 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Holmberg (pictured). Nazareth led 1-0 in the first half on a goal by Rigney, but Geneseo tied the score in the second half on a goal by Judah Manetta. Geneseo holds a 13-10-3 advantage in the overall series.

SCOUTING GENESEO: The Blue Knights are also making their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Geneseo won the SUNYAC title in 2004 and advanced all the way to the national semifinals before falling to UC-Santa Cruz.

In 2006, Geneseo finished 14-4-1 overall and comes into Wednesday game with six wins in its last seven games. They defeated Oswego and Fredonia last weekend to win their conference title.

Senior back Jim Felluca (Gates Chili) and sophomore midfielder Judah Manetta (Greece Arcadia) were first-team all-conference selections. Second-team selections included sophomore midfielder Joe Walter and senior back Chris Billoni. Senior midfielder Kyle Pucko (Webster Schroeder) made the third team. Manetta leads the team in scoring with six goals and four assists. Felluca and Pucko have each scored four times. Jeremy Reeves has played most of the minutes in goal and has 37 saves, a 0.69 goals-against average and five shutouts.