Men's Soccer Travels to Endicott for ECAC Quarterfinals

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's soccer team will continue their postseason schedule, earning a berth into the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III New England Championships, and will face host Endicott College Wednesday afternoon in the quarterfinals. Kickoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.

The Blazers sit at 9-8-3 overall after falling in the New England Collegiate Conference championship game Sunday afternoon at Leary Field. Elms is 5-2-1 in their last eight matches, holding opponents to just five goals in those contests. The Blazers are generating 2.05 goals per game on 18.7 shots, while limiting foes to 1.2 goals on 13.9 shots. Elms claimed the seventh-seed in the ECAC tournament.

Junior defender Connor O'Grady (Somers, Conn.) has led the offensive charge for the Blazers, en route to the NECC Player of the Year award, becoming the first Elms' player to garner the award. O'Grady posted team-highs in points (23), goals (8), and assists (7). Freshman forward Bobby Zaino (Avon, Conn.) had a brilliant start to his Blazers career with a 17-point season, leading all NECC freshmen in goals with seven, along with three assists. Junior midfielder Lorenzo Rolocut (Somers, Conn.) earned a First-Team All-Conference selection after scoring five goals with five assists, while freshman midfielder CJ Dabkowski (Bristol, Conn.) added five assists and a pair of goals to claim an Honorable Mention status. NECC Second-Team selection junior forward Safa Saady (Chicopee, Mass.) added three goals and an assist, and senior forward Joseph Coleman (Easthampton, Mass.) has netted a trio of goals as well. The Blazers have patrolled the group of juniors Ryan Harris (Jackson, Miss.), Nick Pennant (St. Andrew, Jamaica), and Christian Kostka (Oxford, Conn.) in between the pipes this season, combining for a 1.14 goals against average, a .817 save percentage, with 107 saves and four shutouts.

The second-seeded Endicott College Gulls have registered 9-7-4 record in 2014 after falling in the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinals to eventual champion Nichols College. The Gulls will be making their first appearance in the ECAC tournament since 2012, when they reached the semifinals. Endicott is producing 1.55 goals per game on 16.6 shots, while holding opponent to less than one goal (.85) on 14.1 shots.

The Gulls are propelled by junior midfielder Diego Slobotzky (Mexico City, Mexico) with team-highs in points (21), goals (8), and assists (5). Junior midfielder Zach Rizzo (Redding, Conn.) has chipped in five goals and two assists, while senior midfielder Connor Gibbs (Westborough, Mass.) has netted four goals on the season. Senior defender Jed Magnusson (Kingston, N.H.), junior defender Kyle Biscerglia (New Boston, N.H.), junior midfielder Shintaroh Itoh (Tokyo, Japan) each have scored a pair of goals. Senior goalkeeper Alex Jorge will protect the net for the Gulls, recording a .80 goals against average, a .845 save percentage, with 93 saves and seven shutouts.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools in program history. The squads played one common opponent in 2014 in Westfield State. The Blazers defeated the Owls, 1-0, on the road, while Endicott picked up a 4-0 home win over the Owls.

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