The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference

NORTON, MA- The regionally-ranked Wheaton College men's soccer team, fresh off its seventh conference tournament crown in 10 seasons, returns to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time and will host local foe Bridgewater State College in the first round on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. on Keefe Field. The winner will advance to Saturday's second round and travel to face Middlebury College at 1:00 p.m.

This fall marks the fifth straight in which the Lyons were selected for the NCAA Tournament field, as Wheaton drew its seventh automatic qualification thanks to the Blue and White's seventh New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament title in 10 years. The Lyons, who also earned their seventh regular season crown, stand 12-6-3 overall as the eighth-ranked team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) New England poll.

Wheaton is 13-0 all time against Bridgewater State, having knocked it off by a 7-2 count on September 5. The 8-10-2 Bears won the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament as the league's fourth seed. Middlebury is currently 14-2-1 and also drew an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament crown. The Panthers are tied for 11th in the NSCAA national poll and sit second in New England.

The Lyons went 4-1-1 during NEWMAC play and clinched the regular season title with a 2-1 win over Babson College on October 20. Wheaton earned the top seed in the conference tournament, where it knocked off number four Clark University, 2-0 on Saturday in the semifinals before stopping number two Babson, 4-0 in Sunday's championship contest.

Now in his 14th season at the helm of the Lyons, head coach Matt Cushing guided Wheaton to its 16th straight winning season, as Cushing currently owns a 212-58-25 career record. His .761 winning percentage is among the best in Division III, and the Blue and White is 7-5-3 in NCAA Tournament play under Cushing. The Lyons are 3-0 at home in NCAA action, as this marks the first time since 2003 they will host.

A vital freshman corps has paced the offense, scoring 27 of the team's 43 goals and recording 32 of 47 assists. Freshmen have played a hand in 36 of Wheaton's 43 goals. Freshman Josh Solomon (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxboro Regional) has six goals and six assists for a team-high 18 points, while classmates David Ferriero (Medway, MA/Medway) and Yuri Moreira (Marlboro, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) have a team-high-tying seven goals apiece to go along with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Senior back Jim Ferriero (Medway, MA/Medway) has anchored a green defensive unit that yields only 1.15 goals per game. Despite three freshman keepers combining to play every second and two first-year defenders starting every game, the Lyons have held 15 opponents to one goal or less. In 11 starts, first-year keeper Cole Davidson (Needham, MA/Salisbury School) sports a 1.12 goals against average and three shutouts. In his last nine games, Davidson had a 0.81 GAA and .841 save percentage while yielding more than one goal only once.

Tickets will be sold by the Wheaton College Athletic Department at $10 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens, and $2 for children ages 3-12. Tickets will be sold at the gate starting at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday. If you are a member of the working media and would like to request a media pass, please call Scott Dietz in advance at 508-286-3768 to arrange for the pass to be picked up.

Wheaton Men's Soccer Qualifies for NCAA Tournament Field, Slated to Host Bridgewater State in First Round on Wednesday