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2002 Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament Preview
American aims to return to NCAA Tournament

All-Patriot League First Team selection Larry McDonald looks to lead the Eagles in the PL Tournament.

November 14, 2002

American's men's soccer team enters the 2002 Patriot League Tournament as the second seed after finishing the regular season 12-6-1 overall and 4-2-1 in league play. AU holds the second seed over Lehigh which finished with an identical 4-2-1 Patriot League record, but the Eagles won the tiebreaker. Holy Cross earned the right to host the tournament after posting a 5-2 league mark. The fourth seed is Lafayette which has come on strong lately, posting a 5-1-3 record in its last nine matches. Tournament play begins Friday at 11:00 a.m. with the semifinals. The championship match is on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. All of AU's matches will be carried live via Teamline. Click here to listen to all of the action.

Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2
Teams
Bracket
Tournament Gamenotes

SEMIFINAL 2
#2 AMERICAN (12-6-1, 4-2-1) vs. #3 LEHIGH (10-6-2, 4-2-1) - 1:30 p.m.
For the second season in a row, AU plays Lehigh in the Patriot League Semifinals with the Eagles holding the second seed. American defeated the Mountain Hawks, 1-0, in double overtime in last year's tournament. The teams tied, 1-1, on Nov. 2 at Bethlehem, Pa.

THE TEAMS

Two-time All-Patriot League First Team member Kris Kuykendall

AMERICAN NOTES
The defending Patriot League Champion Eagles are looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. AU enters as the second seed in the tournament. AU had three All-Patriot League First Team selections with Kris Kuyekndall and Larry McDonald making their second appearance on the team and Andrew Herman making the squad for the first time. Shawn Kuykendall earned a spot on the Second-Team. The Eagles have the most explosive offense in the league, leading in goals, assists and points per game. AU scored 40 goals this season while no other team scored more than 26.

AU's offense is balanced, as the Eagles have three of the top-six point scorers in the Patriot League. Herman led the league with 11 goals and 29 points. Shawn Kuykendall led the Patriot League in assists with 11 and was second in the league with 23 points. Peter Philipakos was sixth in the league with 16 points.

McDonald anchored the backfield for AU this season. The Eagles have a team goals-against average of 1.12 for the regular season. Along with McDonald, Sean Albright, Jeff Kinney, David Pryor and Robert Rezek have been crucial parts of the AU defense in 2002. Michael Behonick has been the mainstay in goal for AU, posting a 1.22 GAA and a record of 10-5-1.

Senior Matt Ney

HOLY CROSS NOTES
For the second consecutive season, the Crusaders won the Patriot League regular-season title. Holy Cross is in the tournament for its sixth consecutive year. Holy Cross is led by Co-Offensive Player of the Year Matt Ney and Defensive Player of the Year Rusty Giudici. Ney led the team with nine goals and 21 points on the season. Chris Napolitano also made the Patriot League's First-Team and has six goals for 12 points. Patrick Montgomery is the third-leading scorer for the Crusaders with five points and is an All-Patirot League Second-Team selection.Goalkeeper Kevin Baker owns a 0.67 goals-against average and has posted nine shutouts this year.

Senior Paulo Coelho

LAFAYETTE NOTES
The four-time Patriot League Champion Leopards return to the Patriot League Tournament after a one-year hiatus. Lafayette is led by All-Patriot League First Team selection Paulo Coelho who posted eight goals and two assists in the regular season. Also on the First-Team, Tom Wajda anchors the defense for the 'Pards which posted a team goals-against average of 0.89 for the season. Jay Freedman has seen the bulk of time in goal, owning a 0.96 GAA and a record of 4-4-2.

Senior Evan Bruno

LEHIGH NOTES
The 2000 Patriot League Champion Mountain Hawks make their third consecutive appearance in the Patriot League Tournament and fifth in the last six seasons. Co-Offensive Player of the Year Evan Bruno leads Lehigh with seven goals and six assists. He became only the second player ever in Patriot League history to have 100 points in his career. Dan Perciballi also made the All-Patriot League First Team and he is second on the squad with five goals for ten points. Doug Cusick earned a spot on the Second-Team after anchoring the backfield and scoring three goals and adding an assist this season. Ryan Grzeszczak has played every minute in goal for the Mountain Hawks, posting a 0.84 goals-against average.

TOURNAMENT BRACKET