Men’s Soccer Prepped for First Round Contest At #15 Johns Hopkins

BALTIMORE, MD – The Penn State Behrend men's soccer team travels to Baltimore to take on No. 15 Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer First Round on Saturday, Nov. 16. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Homewood Field.

Coverage:

Video | Live Stats | Bracket

Admission:

* First and second round games will have an admission fee of $5 for adults and $3 for seniors/children

Behrend News & Notes:

* The Lions earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the AMCC Championship, 5-4, in penalty kicks over Alfred State
* This marks the 11^th conference title and ninth NCAA Tournament selection for Behrend, first since 2019
* Seniors Andrew Cassano (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park), Blake Cooper (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional), and Johnathan Swann (Allison Park, PA/North Allegheny) were selected to the AMCC All-Tournament Team
* This week, eight Lions were picked to the All-Conference Team
* Cassano and Cooper notched All-AMCC First Team, while Owen Petersen (Erie, PA/McDowell), Reilly Nickles (Pittsburgh, PA/Moon Area), and Anthony Scalise (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) garnered Second Team honors
* Rounding out the AMCC All-Conference selections were Swann, John Ziobro (Westtown, NY/Minisink Valley), and Brock Kiefer (Eighty-Four, PA/Canon McMillan) who grabbed spots on the Third Team.
* Cooper leads the team and tied for third in the AMCC in goals (10), while sitting fifth in the conference rankings in points (22)
* Scalise has made 13 starts, ranking first in the AMCC in shutouts (seven) and second in save percentage (.793) and goals-against average (0.90) to go along with a team-high 46 saves. He most recently recorded a shutout in the conference title game, making a key save in penalty kicks to secure the win against the Pioneers
* The winner of Saturday's first-round contest will take on the victor of No. 21 Washington & Lee and Otterbein on Sunday at 3 p.m.

No. 15 Johns Hopkins News & Notes:

* The Blue Jays are making their 20^th NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth consecutive after defeating Muhlenberg 5-3 in penalty kicks in the Centennial Conference Championship
* Johns Hopkins finished the regular season with a 10-3-3 overall record, earning 15^th in the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Men's Soccer Top 25
* Graduate Francis Meyer was named Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was joined by Mikkel Andersen and Will Sangpachatanaruk on the All-Centennial First Team
* Logan Falzarano secured Second Team honors and Ian Whamond claimed Third Team to round out the All-Conference Team for the Blue Jays
*  Meyers leads the team in points (18) and is tied for the lead in goals (6) and ranks second in assists (6), while anchoring the backline as a defensive midfielder
* Whamond is tied with a team-high six scores and Sangpachatanaruk and Mendrysa have each dished out eight assists this season
* Goalkeepers Simon Turner and Loucas Costeas have each played 11 games, combining to make 69 saves
* Head coach Craig Appleby is in 16^th season at the helm of the men's soccer program

Series History:

* This is the first matchup in program history between the Lions and Blue Jays