The #14 Middlebury men's soccer team has secured an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers head to Massachusetts for the opening weekend, taking on SUNY Geneseo on Saturday. The winner of that matchup battles the victor between hosting #8 Wheaton and Neumann in Sunday's second round.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers have a 9-5-2 mark heading into the tournament. The program tallied a record of .500 or better in NESCAC play for the fifth season in a row. 
• Middlebury heads to the NCAA postseason for the eighth straight campaign and 18th time overall.
• The squad claimed the sixth seed in the conference tournament, taking down third-seeded Bowdoin 2-1 in the quarterfinals before falling 3-2 in overtime to top-seeded Tufts.
• Middlebury pursues its second NCAA crown. Head coach Alex Elias '08 helped guide the program to its lone championship as a player in 2007, when the Panthers defeated Trinity (Tex.) 4-3 in penalty kicks. The 2007 team's 18-2-2 record is the best in program history.
• The Panthers have six quarterfinal appearances under their belt. Last season, the program advanced to the final site of competition with a 4-3 triumph in PKs over Babson.
• Middlebury sits in the top three in the league in multiple categories. The program paces the NESCAC with a 0.842 save percentage while sitting second in total goals scored (33), scoring average (2.063) and assists (29).
• Six teams represent the NESCAC in the bracket after a conference-record eight made the field a season ago. The league officially began competing in the NCAA Tournament following the 1993-94 campaign.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Will Sawin and Gavin Randolph have been a solid pairing up front for the Panther attack. Sawin has been on a tear recently, owning a five-game point streak with goals in four of the last five contests. His eight markers and 20 points also pace the squad. Randolph sits third with three goals and five points in the last five games.
• Eduardo Casanova and Keagan Harder are mainstays in the midfield. Casanova is the other player with double-digit points (11) and leads the team with seven helpers. Harder has found the back of the net four times and has nine points.
• Middlebury's defensive line is headlined by the trio of Pablo Gonzalez, Orlando Cavaceppi-Dove and Hamin Kim. Gonzalez has played the most minutes of any player (1,278) and tallied his first goal of the campaign in the NESCAC Semifinals. The rookie combo of Cavaceppi-Dove and Kim has also logged north of 1,000 minutes of game action each and combined for two goals and four assists. 
• Goalie Joey Waterman has been the primary option in net for the Panthers. The senior has a 9-3-1 mark with 53 saves and six total shutouts. His 0.841 save percentage paces the conference and is 15th in Division III.

ABOUT SUNY GENESEO

• The Knights ran the table as the top seed in the Empire 8, securing their first conference championship since joining last season.
• Geneseo downed eighth-seeded Hartwick 1-0 in the quarterfinals before advancing to the title bout with a 5-4 win in penalty kicks over fifth-seeded Utica. The Knights then took down SUNY Brockport in the championship match in a 2-1 overtime thriller.  
• The program's league title was the third in team history after claiming the 2004 and 2006 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) crowns. 
• Geneseo enters the weekend with a 13-5-3 record and is unbeaten in 11 of its last 12 matches.
• It will be the Knights' third NCAA Tournament appearance after earning automatic berths in 2004 and 2006.

KNIGHTS TO WATCH

• Dylan Thody and Aidan Lodie have spearheaded the Geneseo offense. Thody leads the team in goals (15), assists (nine) and points (39). The forward has five game-winning tallies, including the deciding penalty kick goal in the Empire 8 Championship game. Lodie has five goals and two assists coming into the weekend.
• Headlining the midfield is the duo of Michael Ruggiero and Owen Burke. Ruggiero has 27 points (10G, 7A), headlined by a four-goal performance in the regular season against Keuka. Burke is fifth on the team with 10 points and had the lone goal in the Knights' quarterfinal victory over Hartwick.
• Geneseo has a solid backline made up of Eric Carnes, Charlie Sorensen and Jace DiPalo. Carnes is one of three players to start all 21 contests, logging a team-high 1,822 minutes. Sorensen is right behind Carnes in minutes played (1,681) and assisted on two goals this season. DiPalo is a two-way player for Geneseo, adding five goals and a helper in nearly 1,300 minutes.
• Max Crothall has stood in net for 19 of 21 contests for the Knights, posting an 11-5-3 mark with a 1.16 goals against average (GAA) and 0.788 save percentage.

#8 WHEATON NOTES

• Wheaton, who is ranked eighth in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, enters the NCAA Tournament with a 14-1-4 record.
• The Lyons earned an at-large selection after being upset by fifth-seeded Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Semifinals. The loss to WPI snapped an 18-game unbeaten streak.
• Wheaton will make its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2014.
• The program has outscored opponents 57-11 heading into the NCAA postseason and ranks top five in the nation in shots on goal per contest (10.58 - third), shots per game (21.32 - fourth) and total goal differential (46 - fifth).
• Midfielder Aidan Doyle leads a three-headed attack for the Lyons with nine goals and 10 assists. Declan Rhatigan (9G, 6A) and Gael Vera (9G, 5A) are also north of 20 points.
• Michael O'Gara has a conference-high seven shutouts in 1323:18 of game action in net for Wheaton.

NEUMANN NOTES

• Neumann has a 13-3-3 record heading into the NCAA postseason.
• The program grabbed its third-consecutive Atlantic East Conference championship via a 2-0 victory over Marymount University in the title tilt. 
• This will be the sixth time that the Knights have made it into the NCAA Tournament and the third year in a row. 
• Jordan Illian has been the top performer on the Neumann attack. He sits second in the Atlantic East and first on the squad with 18 goals.
• Zion Atta-Krah and Luke Mejia have also provided a spark to the Knights' offense. Atta-Krah had the game-winner in the league title game for his sixth goal of the season, while Mejia has a team-best six helpers.
• In goal, AJ Henry has tallied 1437:22 minutes and is 20th in the nation with eight shutouts.

SERIES HISTORY VS MIDDLEBURY

• Saturday's battle between Middlebury and SUNY Geneseo will be the first meeting in men's soccer.
• The Panthers and Lyons have met only once in the NCAA Tournament. Middlebury secured a 5-0 win in the first round of the 2007 edition en route to the program's first national championship.
• If the Panthers and Knights square off in the second round, the matchup will be the first all-time. 

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

• NCAA Championship Interactive Bracket
• NCAA Championship Selection Show