The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team will open play this weekend in the 2013 NCAA Division III tournament.  Their first round opponent is Oberlin College, who earned a Pool C berth into the field of 61 as did Oneonta, out of the NCAC conference.  The two will square off in the second of two games on Saturday night at Edwin Fauver Stadium on the campus of the University of Rochester beginning at 7:30pm.

The first game will feature host Rochester from the UAA versus SUNYIT of the NEAC at 5pm.  Both teams received the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament by virtue of winning their conference championships.

Oneonta has never faced Oberlin, but has previously played both Rochester and SUNYIT.  In 2010, the Red Dragons were downed by Rochester, 1-0.  SUNYIT used to be a member of the SUNYAC before leaving to join the NEAC.  The two faced each other just twice before SUNYIT exited the conference with Oneonta winning both matches by identical 4-0 scores.

The SUNY Oneonta State men's soccer team earned a Pool C berth into this year's NCAA tournament. The Red Dragons won the regular season title in the SUNYAC, but lost to Plattsburgh, 1-0, in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

"As we found out in the SUNYAC tournament, being the dominant team in the regular season counts for nothing," said coach Iain Byrne.  "Making our third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, we know how difficult it is to win games against this level of competition. Postseason soccer is all about performing on the day. The team that limits its mistakes and takes their chances usually ends up winning."

Oneonta will be making its third straight NCAA appearance since rejoining the ranks of Division III in 2006 and becoming eligible for the NCAA tournament in 2008.  Two years ago, in its first Division III tournament, the Red Dragons advanced all the way to the national championship weekend in San Antonio.

This is Oneonta's seventh NCAA tournament appearance overall.  Prior to 2006, Oneonta competed in Division I before officially joining Division III.  During that time, Oneonta made four consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament from 1972-75.  In 1972, the Red Dragons played in the first Division II national championship game.

Oneonta will enter this weekend 11-4-4 overall including a record of 2-2-1 over its final five games of the season.  Overall, Oneonta has scored 43 goals while holding its opponents to 14.  The Red Dragons have recorded seven shutouts this fall for a shutout percentage of 37 percent.  Oneonta also has a huge advantage in shots 312-166 and corner kicks 113-67.

Individually, the Red Dragons have five players who have registered double-digits in points including four sophomores.  Sophomore Dylan Williams (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury), who was selected as a First Team All-Conference player, is the leader with 23 points on 10 goals and three assists.  Classmate Zef Saljanin (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) is next with seven goals and two assists for 16 points.

Sophomore Alex Winiarski (Great Neck/St. Anthony's) is third with 12 points, while senior Luke Halberg (Norwich/Valley Heights Christian Academy) and sophomore Jake Sutherland (Syracuse/West Genesee) round our this quintet with 10 points each.  Halberg joined Williams as a First Team All-Conference selection while Sutherland earned Second Team honors.

In the goal, it has been junior Vincent Pellegrino (Baldwin/Baldwin) who has logged the most minutes this fall.  He has played 1,081 minutes and has a 0.75 goals against average.  In 12 starts, he has compiled a 5-3-3 record while recording three shutouts.

Junior Daniel DeBottis (/) is 5-1-1 in eight starts this fall.  DeBottis has played 611 minutes and has a 0.74 goals against with one shutout.

Byrne concluded, "We know that the NCAA tournament is a collection of the best teams in the country so there are no easy matches.  The guys are excited to be playing soccer at this time of year.  Our goal is to play to the best of our ability and hopefully entertain the crowds with some attacking soccer."

Scouting Oberlin
Oberlin is making its first-ever appearance in the national tournament, which began in 1974.

It has been a banner season for longtime Head Coach Blake New and his Yeomen side that tied the school record for wins in a season with a 13-3-4 record. This year's team also established a new school record for shutouts in a season with 10 and the 16 goals allowed are the fewest of any team in New's 16-year tenure.

Senior goalie Brandt Rentel set the single-season shutout record, recording nine clean sheets, while sophomore John Ingham scored a North Coast Athletic Conference-best 15 goals, which ties for third best on the Oberlin single-season all-time list.

The Yeomen finished third in the NCAC with a record of 5-1-3 and qualified for their first conference tournament since 2006. Oberlin fell to Kenyon College, 1-0, in the NCAC Tournament semifinals. Kenyon and Oberlin join No. 1 overall seed Ohio Wesleyan as NCAC schools who are a part of this year's tournament field.

Oberlin had 10 different players score at least one goal on the season, outscoring opponents 39-16. The team scored two or more goals in a game 13 times and also set the single-season assists record with 35.

Scouting Rochester
The Yellowjackets earned a pool A berth into the NCAA Tournament this season by winning the University Athletic Association title with a 5-1-1 conference record, 13-2-2 overall in Head Coach Chris Apple's 13th season.

The NCAA Tournament appearance is Rochester's 15th overall. The Yellowjackets reached the tournament last season and have made NCAA's in eight of the last nine years. In 2012, UR defeated Misericordia 5-4 on penalty kicks to advance to the 2nd round after a 1-1 draw.

Rochester enters the weekend ranked #11 in the latest NSCAA Division III poll and is currently ranked in the top 20 in both scoring offense (2.88 goals per game) and scoring defense (0.63 goals allowed per game).

The Yellowjackets boast tremendous depth this season with four players have 12 or more points. Sixteen players have scored at least one goal and 21 have recorded at least one point.

UR boasts a 2-1-1 record against teams that qualified for the tournament this season, they defeated Brandeis and Lycoming while drawing against Carnegie Mellon. The lone blemish against tourney teams came at the hands of St. Lawrence.

Rochester is riding a five game unbeaten streak into the tournament.

Scouting SUNYIT
With a record of 16-1-2, the Wildcats turned in the best season in program history while winning the NEAC Championship for the third time in four years. Senior goalkeeper Malick Faye has led the way for a stingy defense that surrendered just seven goals all season, and only three against conference opponents. Faye's save percentage of .927 is currently tops in the nation, while his goals-against-average of .313 is second. Faye was named both NEAC Goalkeeper and Player of the
Year, the second time in his career that he has held both honors.

On the other side of the ball, fellow senior Diego Montaleza turned in the best performance of his career, setting a school record in both categories with 13 goals and 6 assists in the regular season, including 7 game-winning goals.

SUNYIT's success has been due to the marriage of talent both young and old, as the Wildcat's have consistently started three freshmen while counting on several others to play important minutes. For helping instill chemistry between the upper-and underclassmen, Coach Peterson Jerome was awarded his 3rd NEAC Coach of the Year honor.

The winner of this weekend's opening round will advance to the sectionals round next weekend where the tournament will be narrowed down to the final four teams.  The national championship weekend is scheduled for Friday & Saturday, Dec. 6-7 in San Antonio.