Thursday, November 14, 2002

MORAVIAN MEN’S SOCCER MAKES 2ND STRAIGHT ECAC SEMIFINAL APPEARANCE

BETHLEHEM, PA --- The Moravian College men’s soccer team will make its second straight appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Mid-Atlantic Semifinals as the third-seeded Greyhounds will battle second-seeded Penn State University-Altoona at College Misericordia in a semifinal match on Saturday, November 16th at 3:30 p.m. The winner of the match will advance to the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship on Sunday.

Saturday’s other semifinal match will have top-seeded and host College Misericordia (13-5-2) taking on fourth-seeded Lebanon Valley College (12-5-2) at 1:00 p.m. The championship match will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Moravian has posted a 12-8-2 overall record this season under fourth-year head coach Eric Lambinus, who has a record of 40-36-5 at Moravian. The Greyhounds had won five consecutive matches before falling to nationally ranked Messiah College, 6-0, in the Commonwealth Conference Championship match last Saturday. Moravian defeated sixth seeded Widener, 3-2 in overtime, in Wednesday’s ECAC quarterfinal match to advance to the semifinals. Moravian is making its 11th appearance in the ECAC Tournament.

On the field, the Greyhounds are being led in scoring by sophomore midfielder Daniel Samuelsson (Lebanon, NJ/North Hunterdon HS), who has eight goals and five assists for 21 points. Samuelsson has four game-winning goals this season including a pair of overtime winners against Widener. Samuelsson also won Moravian’s ECAC Quarterfinal match in 2001 with an overtime game-winning goal.

Sophomore forward Ryan Fick (Hamburg, PA/Fleetwood HS) has found the back of the net six times, including the game-winner over Elizabethtown College in the Commonwealth Conference semifinals as the Greyhounds defeated the Blue Jays for the first time since 1970, and Fick has added five assists for 19 points.

Sophomore midfielder Jim Feimster (Stroudsburg, PA/Pocono Mountain HS) has scored five goals and four assists for 14 points while junior midfielder Tim Shannon (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill Valley HS) also has tallied five goals and four assists for 14 points. Feimster has three game-winning tallies this fall while Shannon has one.

Sophomore midfielder Nick Tarquinio (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro HS) has contributed two goals and five assists for nine points. Junior forward Anthony Merz (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan HS) has seven points this fall with three goals and an assist, including a goal in the quarterfinals while junior midfielder Mike Grillo (Dennington, NJ/The Pennington School) has added five points on a goal and three assists this season.

Junior defender Matt Sprague (Souderton, PA/Souderton HS) has a goal and three assists for five points while sophomore midfielder Jonathan Thomas (Port Carbon, PA/Nativity BVM HS) has scored a goal and two assists this fall. Senior forward Wilson Gonzalez (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) has found the back of the net twice this season and added one assist while junior defender Ken Macaulay (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge HS) and freshman midfielder Casey Hoffman (Kempton, PA/ Northwestern Lehigh HS) all have scored one goal. Freshman midfielder Javier Maldonaldo (New Providence, NJ/New Providence HS) has added one assist.

Other Greyhounds contributing on the field are senior defender Brian Mack (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), sophomore defender Ryan Wilkins (Hatboro, PA/Hatboro-Horsham HS) and freshman defender George Gray (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen HS).

Moravian has used a trio of goalies this season with senior Ryan Sculley (Bethlehem, PA/Northampton HS) seeing 1,357 minutes of playing time. Sculley has made 87 saves and posted a 1.53 goals-against average with two shutouts, including one over Elizabethtown in the Commonwealth Conference Semifinals, and a 9-5 record. Sculley has combined with junior keeper Vinny Nasuta (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional HS) on another shutout. Nasuta has a 2.09 goals-against average and 43 saves in 645 minutes. He has added two solo shutouts and a 3-3-2 record. Freshman keeper Ryan Walker (Metuchen, NJ/Metuchen HS) has played 45 minutes with six saves and one goal allowed.