It’s tournament time. In this Le Rouge College Update, we take a look at what’s ahead for City players across the country.
COASTAL CAROLINA
Coastal Carolina (12-6-1) won six out of their final seven matches and used that momentum to claim their second consecutive Sun Belt Tournament Championship on Nov. 12.
Kervin Kenton, Louis Dargent and Tyrone Mondi all contributed along the way as the Chants defeated Howard and Georgia State en route to their title.
Coastal plays in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Mercer at 7 PM on November 16.
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE
Omar Sinclair and the Cardinals (13-4-2) marched all the way to the GLIAC Tournament Championship game, where they fell to Davenport, 1-0, on November 5. In the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament, SVSU lost to Davis & Elkins in a penalty shootout, ending their impressive 2017 season.
Sinclair has one more year of eligibility with the Cardinals and will be an asset on defense once again after starting 18 matches this season.
UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY
Tyler Moorman, Spiro Pliakos and the Titans (7-8-4) made a run to the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship, but lost to #1 seed Green Bay, 3-1, on Nov. 9. In the first round, the Titans took down Milwaukee in a penalty shootout before falling to Green Bay.
Moorman and Pliakos, both seniors, have plenty to be proud of. Pliakos earned CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team Honors and is a four-time All-Horizon League forward. He was also voted Second Team All-Horizon League in 2017, becoming the second player in school history to earn four All-Conference honors in his career. Moorman was voted First Team All-Horizon League and made the All-Academic Team.
Moorman and Pliakos led the team in goals in 2017, with 11 and 7, respectively. They also led the team in points with 25 and 25, respectively.
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
The Huskies (12-6-1) finished the year ranked #20. Elijah Rice, Luke Hauswirth and Washington lost to Oregon State, 4-3, in the Pac-12 tournament on Nov. 9. They finished the season ranked third best in the conference.
Next up for Washington is Seattle in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on November 16 at 9 PM ET.
WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos and Zach Bock (16-3-1) made a run all the way to the MAC Tournament Championship game, where they lost to Akron, 3-1, on Nov. 12. They took down West Virginia, 1-0, in the semifinals.
WMU earned its first at-large NCAA Tournament bid in program history, receiving a bye and #10 seed. The Broncos will host its second-round game on November 19 against the winner of Albany vs. Maryland. Kickoff is at 1 PM ET.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
The University of Illinois at Chicago and Max Todd (11-5-3) finished their season hot and handily won its second consecutive Horizon League Tournament after defeating both Cleveland State and then #1 Green Bay on November 11. Todd scored the second goal in UIC’s 2-0 title-winning victory over Green Bay.
Todd and the Flames visit Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 16 at 8 PM ET.
INDIANA
The Hoosiers (15-0-5) finished second-best in the country and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship as the #2 seed after defeating #7 Penn State and #6 Ohio State. However, #5 Wisconsin defeated the Hoosiers in a penalty shootout in the championship game.
Ranked #2 overall, Indiana earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament and will host the winner of Old Dominion vs. NC State on Nov. 19 at 1 PM.
MARYLAND
Aaron Franco and the Terps (10-5-3) finished the year ranked #23. In the Big Ten Tournament, the #4 Terps lost, 2-1, to #5 Wisconsin in the quarterfinals.
Maryland hosts Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on November 16 at 7 PM ET.
MICHIGAN STATE
Coach Pirmann’s and Bret Mollon’s Spartans (11-3-3) finished the season ranked #14 in the country. In the Big Ten Tournament, #3 MSU was defeated in the quarterfinals by #6 Ohio State.
Ranked #7 overall, the Spartans earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament and will host the winner of Virginia Tech vs. Air Force on Nov. 19 at 1 PM.
ST. EDWARD’S UNIVERSITY
Owain Hoskins helped the Hilltoppers (15-4-2) finish #14 in the Division II rankings. St. Edward’s also won their first match of the Heartland Tournament against St. Mary’s, 6-1, with a goal from Hoskins.
However, the Hilltoppers lost a 1-0 heartbreaker in the finals against Midwestern State. Then, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament, St. Edwards were defeated by Colorado School of Mines, 6-5, in a penalty shootout.
Hoskins was named to the South Central All-Region Second Team, making the senior defender a three-time all-region award winner. Hoskins ended the season with four goals and four assists, including two game-winning goals.
DAVENPORT
Davenport University (12-6-1) and defender Stephen Carroll are officially GLIAC Tournament Champions in their first year in the conference after defeating SVSU, 1-0, in the finals on November 5.
En route to the title, they also took down Purdue-Northwest and Davenport by a combined score of 6-2. Carroll netted the game-winner against Davenport, his fourth goal of the season.
Carroll, a junior defender, was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year and GLIAC Tournament MVP. He was also named to the All-GLIAC First Team. He logged the fourth-most minutes on the team (1,540) and has not missed a start in his two years with the program. Carroll ranked tied for second on the team with three goals.
XAVIER
Derrick Otim and Xavier University (11-6-3) fought hard in a thrilling Big East Tournament but fell short in the finals against Georgetown on Nov. 12. After taking down Providence in the first round, Xavier defeated #1 Butler, 4-1, in a penalty shootout to earn their spot in the finals.
Xavier fell just short of a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Otim started all 20 games for Xavier in 2017.
PROVIDENCE
Providence (5-8-5) and Colin Miller were defeated by Xavier, 3-0, in the first round of the Big East Tournament. It wasn’t the result the Friars were looking for, but Miller finished his year strong, earning Big East Goalkeeper of the Week twice in the final two weeks of the season.
