MAAC Men's Soccer Championship Preview
2018 Men's Soccer Championship Notes
EDISON, NJ -
The 2018 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship kicks-off on Sunday with a pair of First Round contests. The six-team championship will take place over three days—Sunday, November 4, Thursday, November 8, and Sunday, November 11.
Broadcast Schedule
The first-round matchup between No. 3 Marist College and No. 6 Saint Peter’s will air on MAAC.TV at 5:00 PM. No. 4 Iona College takes on No. 5 Rider University on ESPN+ at 1:00 PM. Networks and times for the semifinals and championship game are still to be determined.
Tickets
No. 3 Marist vs No. 6 Saint Peter’s
No. 4 Iona vs No. 5 Rider
No. 1 Fairfield vs TBD (Thursday, Nov. 8)
No. 2 Quinnipiac vs TBD (Thursday, Nov. 8)
Stags' Second in a Row
Fairfield won its second-straight Regular Season Title with a 1-0 win over Manhattan in the regular season finale on Wednesday. The Stags were also regular season champs in 2011, 2006, 2005, and 1998. The Stags went on to win the conference championship in 2017, 2011, and 2006.
Fairfield finished conference play at 8-0-2 and became the first team since Monmouth (7-0-3) in 2015 to navigate league play without a loss.
Seed Notes
Fairfield, Iona, Quinnipiac, and Rider return from last season’s championship. Fairfield was the top seed last season; Rider was the two, Quinnipiac the five, and Iona the six.
Rider enters as the No. 5 seed.
The Broncs lost to Fairfield last season in the championship game and won the MAAC Championship in 2015 and 2016.
Saint Peter’s clinched a spot in the six-team field for the first time since 2010, which was also the last time the Peacocks were conference champions. It is the first MAAC Championship appearance under the direction of head coach Julien Richens.
No. 3 Marist, No. 4 seed Iona, and No. 6 Saint Peter’s were not picked to make the MAAC Championship in the preseason poll. The trio was seventh, eighth, and 10th respectively in the poll.
A team seeded one, two, three, or four has won the last 10 MAAC Championships. The number one and two seeds have won four times. A three seed has won twice, and one four seed has claimed the title.
First Round Matchups
No. 3 seed Marist hosts No. 6 seed Saint Peter’s on Sunday. The Red Foxes won the regular season meeting 2-0 on September 26 in Jersey City, NJ. It was the MAAC opener for both teams.
No. 4 seed Iona welcomes No. 5 seed Rider for the first postseason game in program history at Mazzella Field on Sunday. The host Gaels fell to the Broncs 3-1 during the regular season down in Lawrenceville, NJ.
Champions in the Field
Fairfield has won the most titles of the six teams in the field with five. Rider is right behind on four. Marist has collected three crowns, while Saint Peter’s has two, and Quinnipiac has won.
Last championship – Fairfield (2017), Rider (2016), Marist (2005), Saint Peter’s (2010), and Quinnipiac (2013).
Ranked Wins
Fairfield, Manhattan, and Marist beat ranked foes during non-conference play this season. The Stags won at then-ninth-ranked UNCW 3-2 on September 9. The Jaspers topped then-No. 25 Fordham 1-0 in Riverdale. The Red Foxes went out to California and won at then-No. 17 Pacific 1-0 on September 3.
Bonus Soccer
MAAC teams played 34 overtime games this season. Twenty-four of those came in non-conference play with MAAC teams posting a 5-8-11 mark in those games.
Top Bobcats
Quinnipiac’s Eamon Whelan led the MAAC in goals (12), goals per game (0.75), points (27), and points per game (1.69) during the regular season. Whelan was the lone player to crack double-digit goals in 2018. Cameron Harr of Marist was the last to lead the league in those categories in 2016. Whelan also led the MAAC in game-winning goals with four.
Jarred Mazzola led the league in save percentage (.859). That mark is enough for 10th all-time in MAAC history. Mazzola gave up nine goals while making 55 stops during the regular season.
20-Point Plateau
Whelan and Rider’s Elliott Otmani were the two players to reach 20 points this season. Whelan tallied 12 goals and three assists for 27 points and Otmani finished the regular season campaign with six goals and eight helps for exactly 20 points. Otmani’s eight assists topped the MAAC.
NCAA Ranks
Quinnipiac’s Whelan sits T8 in Division I with 12 goals and T16 in points at 27 … Rider’s Otmani is T14 with eight assists … Manhattan’s Marcellin Gohier is 19th in GAA at .713 and Quinnipiac’s Mazzola is 22nd in GAA at .726 … Mazzola is third in save percentage with a .859 clip … Marist’s Ryan Sinnott’s .823 clip puts him 20th in save percentage and Gohier is 27th at .810 … Monmouth’s Sean Murray (87) and Canisius’ Bryce Tramuta (80) rank third and 10th respectively in total saves.
MAAC Ranks
Saint Peter’s Dominic Laws is third in the MAAC during the regular season with 19 points (8 goals, 3 assists) to pace the Peacocks ... Killian Colombie is top point getter for Iona with 17 (7 goals, 3 assists), which put him fourth in the MAAC ... Allen Gavilanes led the Marist offense and is eighth in the MAAC with 14 points (4 goals, 6 assists) ... Diego Casielles leads Fairfield with 11 points (5 goals, 1 assist) ... Quinnipiac’s Mazzola and Marist’s Sinnott lead the MAAC in goals against average (0.73) ...
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.