2008 Division II Men's Soccer Championship East Regional Notes

2008 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
East Region - First and Second Rounds
No. 1 Southern New Hampshire University (15-2-4)
No. 4 UMass Lowell (11-3-4)
No. 5 Molloy College (12-5-2)

THE WEEKEND: UMass Lowell (11-3-4) and Molloy College (12-5-2) meet in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship Friday at 3:00. The winner of Friday's match advances to face top seed and host Southern New Hampshire University (15-2-4) Sunday afternoon at 1:00.

SCOUTING THE PENMEN: Southern New Hampshire is ranked No. 8 in the latest adidas/NSCAA Division II poll and has been ranked in each of the last eight weeks. The Penmen, who are the No. 1 seed in the East Region, are 11-0-1 at home this season and are unbeaten in their last 16 games at Larkin Field dating back to last season. SNHU captured the Northeast-10 Tournament title, its third in program history, by topping Le Moyne 1-0 in the title game. The Penmen posted three shutouts en route to the crown.

Adrian Schippers leads Southern New Hampshire in scoring with eight goals and six assists for 21 points. He was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Year last Friday. Paulson Edum has registered eight goals and three assists for 19 points, and leads the Northeast-10 with five game-winning goals on the season. Michael Adam has two goals and a team-high five assists for nine points. Kevin Woods and Daniel Hernandez have each recorded three goals and two assists for eight points, while Ransford Shand has tallied two goals and a pair of assists.

The SNHU defense, anchored by Matt Delaney, Richard Kentish, Paul D'Angelo and Jayme Kapinos, has posted 15 shutouts while allowing just seven goals all season. Delaney was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NE-10 Tournament In the most recent NCAA ranking, the Penmen led Division II in team goals-against average (0.32) and team shutout percentage (0.71). As a team SNHU has registered 15 shutouts, tying a single-season school record. NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year Sean Lambert has posted 11 shutouts, a 0.34 goals-against average and a .854 save percentage. He is a five-time NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week and leads Division II in GAA while ranking fifth in save percentage.

SNHU is making its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Penmen captured the national championship in 1989 and reached the national championship game in 2002.

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS:UMass Lowell, who earned a share of the Northeast-10 regular season title along with SNHU, is the No. 4 seed in the East Region. The River Hawks are ranked No. 20 in the latest adidas/NSCAA poll and reached the NE-10 semifinals, where they were eliminated by Le Moyne 2-1 in double overtime. UML had been on a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) prior to the loss to the Dolphins.

Stephen Potcner leads UMass Lowell in scoring with nine goals and four assists for 22 points. Jamie Wangia, a Northeast-10 First Team selection, has totaled eight goals and six assists, while Matt Dubois has scored nine goals on the season. Jeffery Danson has totaled five goals and five assists for 15 points, while Matias Pietropinto has a team-high seven assists while also scoring a pair of goals for 11 points. Jhony Valencia has handed out six assists on the season and was also named to the NE-10 First Team.

Ryan Richards, a Northeast-10 Second Team selection, has played all but 17:18 in goal for the River Hawks this season and owns a 1.09 goals-against average, .716 save percentage and six shutouts.

UMass Lowell is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and its second straight. All four River Hawk tourney appearances have come since 2003. UML reached the Division II quarterfinals in 2003.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:Molloy enters the NCAA Tournament on a five-game win streak and seven game unbeaten streak. The Lions captured their first East Coast Conference tournament title with a 1-0 upset victory over then-No. 8 Dowling on Saturday. Molloy finished second in the ECC with a 5-2-1 league mark and enters the tournament 12-5-2 overall.

Emmanuel Gamez leads the Lions with eight goals and seven assists for 23 points, while Jose Batista is tied for the team lead in assists with eight and has also registered seven goals for a total of 22 points. Nick D'Alessandro has recorded eight goals and four assists for 20 points, while William Bell has seven goals and a pair of assists. Mike Marques has four goals and two assists while John-Paul Hughes has a goal and eight assists. Bell and Batista were both ECC First Team selections.

The Molloy defense boasts a pair of East Coast Conference award winners as goalie Ettore Morelli was named the Goalkeeper of the Year while Nick Bell was the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Morelli has posted a 1.18 goals-against average and .789 save percentage with five shutouts, while Bell anchored a defense that allowed 24 goals in 19 games.

The Lions are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Molloy's 12 wins entering the tournament are a school record.