Men's Soccer | 11/3/2011 12:42:00 PM
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Methodist men's soccer team boasts an 11-4-1 record heading into the USA South Tournament Semifinal on Friday. Their .718 winning percentage is the highest since 2006 right now and the Monarchs are on a roll after three straight wins including a 6-0 shutout over Ferrum College in the USA South Tournament Quarterfinal.
The No. 3 seed in the tournament, the Monarchs will take on No. 2 N.C. Wesleyan College in the second semifinal on Friday. No. 1 Christopher Newport University and No. 5 Averett University will play first at 5 p.m. before Methodist and N.C. Wesleyan play at 7:30 p.m. The winners of each semifinal will play for the USA South Tournament Championship Saturday at 5 p.m. With the championship, the winning team will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
N.C. Wesleyan holds the 20-16-6 advantage over the Monarchs all-time including a 3-1 win earlier this season. Sloshy field conditions and the fact Methodist out shot the Bishops 15-14 suggest the score may not have been indicative of the play. The Monarchs are anxious to avenge the loss on Friday.
The Bishops have not been kind to the Monarchs in the USA South Tournament, eliminating Methodist in five of the last seven seasons. The Monarchs are a different team this season and have a wealth of talent anxious to contribute to a tournament championship run.
Eirik Nordseth leads the team in scoring with 17 goals and three assists while
Eric McGinnis has scored 12 goals to go along with eight assists.
Clayton Newton has become quite the distributor with three goals and a team-high 11 assists. Ten different players have scored 41 goals this season. Methodist is averaging 2.53 goals per game as a team, the highest since 2000.
Fans unable to make the trip to Martinsville, Va. this weekend for the semifinals and finals can follow along online through
live stats and
video. Stay up to date with all of the action through
www.mumonarchs.com and
www.usasouth.net.
Tournament Web Site
Live Stats
Video
