Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's soccer team secured the 4th seed in the AMCC's postseason tournament and will host Alfred State in the program's first home playoff game since 2011.
The Panthers finished the regular season with a 7-7-1 overall record and a 5-3 record in AMCC Play. They have been led by senior forward Chase Rider. Rider currently leads the NCAA in four statistical categories, total goals (22), total points (54), goals per game (1.57), and points per game (3.86). He also leads the AMCC with 10 assists. While Rider has been the focal point of the Panther attack, he has not been alone as Scott Compson has scored 8 and Spencer Sklar and Jan Winnewisser have scored 5 each. Senior Sihle Sizani has posted a 6-4-1 record in goal this season. He has made 86 saves, which is the second-best total in the conference.
The Pioneers secured the 5th seed in the postseason tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker on goal differential. They finished the year 6-10 overall with a 3-5 record in AMCC play. Nuri Sarbudak is the Pioneers' leading scorer, as he has scored 5 goals and assisted twice. Camren Larabee is right behind him with 3 goals and two assists. Thad Grierson has started every game for Alfred State in goal. He has made 66 saves and posted 1.66 goals against average. He has 4 shutouts, the 3rd most in the AMCC.
The Panthers hosted Alfred State in their regular-season matchup to open their AMCC Schedule, coming away with a thrilling 4-3 victory. The Panthers scored the opening goal in the 2nd minute through Jan Winnewisser but saw the Pioneers score three straight to go ahead 3-1. Austin Hogan scored with 20 minutes to go to halve the deficit and Brent Kennedy scored ten minutes later to even the game. Scott Compson was able to drive home the winning goal in the 84th after Kennedy headed a Morounfoluwa Oloronyomi free-kick back into the penalty area.
Due to weather and field conditions at the Kessel Athletic Complex, the game has been moved to Bradford Area High School's Parkway Field. The game will kick off at 2:45 p.m. with the gates opening for the teams and spectators at 1:30 p.m.
