by Matt Koll
The defending champion has survived the quarterfinal round. A team is a No. 2 seed for the second-straight season. Another is winning with shutdown defense and yet another is coming into this tournament having gone unblemished in PAC play.
Let’s check out the final four in the PAC men’s soccer tournament.
#1 GROVE CITY (12-5, 10-0 PAC)
Winners of seven straight, the Wolverines come into the tournament with a perfect record in conference play this season.
For head coach Mike Dreves, this season has been a culmination of great work ethic and a strong team bond.
“It has been a great season so far, but a very important part coming up. We have a great group of guys who are a lot of fun to coach,” said Dreves. “Our culture is really strong. The guys have great friendships and enjoy spending time together which helps. We are very deep. 20 players have played in 15 of our 17 matches. The team has also really bought into our playing model and that has really been evident. We have a specific way that we want to play and we have been fine tuning that, aiming for real clarity with the team, over the past 3 seasons.”
But Dreves knows that the postseason is a different beast. The competition gets tighter, he notices there a lot of one goal games and now overtime and penalty kicks are introduced into the mix so just about anything can happen.
Grove City comes in with the PAC’s best offense, the only one averaging over 2.5 goals per game. They own the league’s largest margin of victory. It’s an aggressive offense, one that’s tops in the conference in shots but for good reason. The Wolverines have scored more goals than any other team, while still allowing the fewest goals than any other PAC team.
Watch out for Sam Belitz who ranks 2nd in shots on goal and points while leading the PAC in goals and game-winning goals. This is a complete team ready to make a run toward a title.
Next game: Wednesday vs. Bethany at 7 pm
#2 FRANCISCAN (11-3-4, 6-2-2 PAC)
Head coach Brent Ridenour is building a strong men’s soccer program at Franciscan, as this will be the second-straight season that the Barons enter the PAC Tournament as the #2 seed.
They finished the season with a rocky 1-1-1 record including a 2-1 loss to Geneva on the road who they’ll host in the semifinals. But this is a solid, well-balanced team with the 3rd ranked offense and defense in the PAC.
This is another aggressive offense, second behind Grove City in shots per game and is third in goals per game. The Barson boast a two-headed offensive attacker with Jonathan Schriner and Nick Miller. Both appear in the top 10 in many offensive categories, with Miller’s seven goals ranking third in the conference and Schriner’s 49 shots ranking second. Their attack led Miller and Schriner to finish third and fourth in points, respectively.
They’ll need their stars to shine to make this a championship season.
Next game: Wednesday vs. Geneva at 7:30 pm
#3 GENEVA (10-3-6, 6-1-3 PAC)
Geneva got their revenge on Westminster in the quarterfinal round, defeating the team that beat them in that round last season with a 1-0 victory. It was their third shutout in a row and their 4th win in a row, making them a dangerous team as they make their way into the semifinals.
The Golden Tornadoes have a recent win over Franciscan to boost their confidence as well, and they hung in there and lost a 1-0 battle against Grove City earlier in the season on the road.
While their defense ranks fourth in the conference, they’ve only given up one goal in their last 4 matches and have given up more than one goal in a game only once in PAC play.
Wil Dunda is an assist machine who’s tied for the league lead in assists with 9, while Antonio Fiordilino in goals and game-winners.
This team is playing well defensively and it will take a tight, concentrated effort to beat them when it matters most.
Next game: Wednesday @ Franciscan at 7:30 pm
#5 BETHANY (9-5-5, 4-2-4 PAC)
The Bison pulled off the mini-upset over the #4 seed Allegheny in the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win. Arnold Fontas-Candida scored in the 14th minute and they hung on from there for the victory.
Bethany comes in as the defending PAC champions, so this program knows what it takes to win this time of year. They’ll have to learn from their 4-2 loss to Grove City earlier in the year to advance, though.
The four goals they gave up in that game has proven to be an anomaly as the Bison have the second-best defense in conference in terms of goals against average.
Fausto Gionchetti is a consistent contributor for them, setting up the game-winning goal in the quarterfinals and ranking tied for fifth in the PAC in assists. Jaczinho O’Garro is their top goal scorer (6) and is tied for fifth in the conference in points.
Let’s see if they can ride the momentum of a quarterfinal victory into a tough matchup against league-unbeaten Grove City.
Next game: Wednesday @ Grove City at 7 pm
