#8 Men’s Soccer Battles at #7 Wentworth in CCC Opening Round

SUFFOLK at WENTWORTH
Date Time Venue Video Stats Series Last Meeting Last Suffolk Win Streak	Thursday, Oct. 28 7:00 PM Sweeney Field Boston, Mass. WentworthAthletics.com/Watch GoSuffolkRams.com Suffolk Trails, 4-6-2 Oct. 20, 2021, L, 2-1 Sept. 25, 1997, W, 2-1 L3

BOSTON – The Suffolk men's soccer team's attention has turned to the post-season as the eight-seeded Rams will tangle with the seventh-seed Wentworth Thursday, Oct. 28 in the Opening Round of the 2021 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.

SOCIAL SAYINGS
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.

SUFFOLK ATHLETICS 2021-22 FAN POLICY
Suffolk University Athletics, following guidance from the University's health and safety protocols, Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, plans to allow fans to attend home athletic contests during the 2021-22 academic and athletic year.

Fans, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, can attend games. They must be masked the entire time they are on campus, pursuant to institutional policy, and complete a health screening form at the security desk of each building upon arrival. This policy applies to home contests played on campus at the Ridgeway Building's Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court, as well as the Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink and the Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.

For outdoor outings, specifically at East Boston Memorial Park, fans are asked to respect COVID safety protocols. At this time, masks will not be mandated for fans no matter vaccinated status at outdoor venues.

MORE READING: Suffolk Athletics Announces Fan Policy for 2021-22

2021 CCC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Opening Round – Thursday, Oct. 28 
#8 Suffolk at #7 Wentworth – 7 PM – Live Stats | Live Video

Quarterfinals – Saturday, Oct. 30 
#7/8 Winner at #2 Roger Williams
#6 Curry at #3 Salve Regina
#5 Western New England at #4 Gordon

Semifinals – Tuesday, Nov. 2
#4/5 Winner at #1 Endicott
#3/6 Winner vs #2/7/8 Winner

Finals – Saturday, Nov. 6
Semifinal Winners

SUFFOLK IN THE POST-SEASON

• The Rams will make their debut in the CCC Tournament for the first time.
• Suffolk has been absent from post-season play since the 2017 campaign when it competed in the GNAC tournament as the eighth seed.
• That trip, back in 2017, was the blue-and-gold's 17th conference post-season appearance.
• Suffolk has only gone on to a league semifinal showdown five times with its last coming in 2016.
• Overall, the Rams have hoisted a conference crown once in 2010 when it captured the GNAC title.

LAST TIME OUT
Suffolk men's soccer took Roger Williams to overtime after a scoreless regulation, however, a penalty kick just over a minute into the extra session paid off for the Hawks in a victorious way as the host downed the Rams, 1-0, Tuesday at Bayside Field.  

MORE READING: Endicott Stifles Men's Soccer, 4-1

RAMS RUNDOWN
Suffolk finished the regular-season 8-8-1 overall and 4-5-0 in CCC action for 12 points good for a tie with Wentworth. The Rams slid into the eighth spot due to the head-to-head tiebreak with the Leopards as a result of the 2-1 setback to WIT a week ago. 

Nigel Leo paces Suffolk's 28-goal offense as the graduate student has had a hand in 13 goals, scoring 11 himself and assisting on two others. His 24 points paces Suffolk's offense that has received help from the underclassmen in freshmen Miguel Varela (5g, 4a) and Erik Van Even (4g, 3a) and sophomore Brady Sorensen (5g, 3a). A handful of the Rams' heavy hitters, specifically Sorensen and Varela, will be on the sidelines Thursday, however, due to previous cautions served to the blue-and-gold.

The Rams have cycled through three different keepers this season. Xander Balog has seen the most action with eight games played, all starts. He holds a 1.99 GAA and .686 save percentage with a 3-5-0 record. All three of Balog's wins are shutouts. Tom Bennett (5 GP, 1.66 GAA, .682 save %) and Alfredo Serrano Figueroa (6 GP, 0.81 GAA, .818 save %) have defended the net for Suffolk on multiple occasions this season as well.

LEOPARDS LOOK
Wentworth ended the season with back-to-back double overtime defeats to move to 9-9-0 on the year and 4-5-0 in CCC action. 

Nathan Gosselin's nine-goal, one-assist offensive output powers the Leopards 39-goal attack. John Dauphin and Jacob Dukeshire have been consistent contributors on the offense end as well. The former has 17 points on three markers and a team-best 11 helpers, while the latter has found the back of the net five times and set-up one score for 11 points. TJ Prouty rounds out the foursome with double-digit points on four goals and two assists.

WIT uses a four-headed goaltending contingent. Robbie West has seen action in 11 games and built a 1.93 GAA and .672 save percentage. From there, game time has been spread out between Louis Quintero (6 GP, 0.84 GAA, .810 save %), Noah Lawless (3 GP, 0.95 GAA, .778 save %) and Liam Nasr (2 GP, 4.93 GAA, .625 save %).

WE MEET AGAIN
Brady Sorensen's game-tying goal would not be enough to fuel a Suffolk men's soccer comeback as Wentworth reclaimed the advantage 50 seconds after the Rams' sophomore leveled the playing field to take a 2-1 lead it even relinquished Wednesday, Oct. 20 at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park. 

MORE READING: Wentworth Gets Past Men's Soccer, 2-1

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk trails Wentworth in the all-time series that dates back to 1989, 4-6-2.
• The Rams look to snap a three-game skid against the Leopards.
• The two teams last met a week ago, Oct. 20, 2021, in East Boston where WIT slipped past Suffolk, 2-1.
• All four of Suffolk's wins came consecutively from 1994-97.
• Suffolk is 2-3-1 versus Wentworth when serving as the home team and 2-3-1 when playing the Leopards as the away team.
• The Leopards have outscored the Rams, 28-20, including a 10-4 margin in the last three games.
• Four games have been decided in shutout fashion. Each team has won two cleansheets. The last shutout came Sept. 21, 1995, with Suffolk winning, 1-0.
• Three games have needed extra time to decide a winner and all three went into double overtime.
• Suffolk is 1-0-2 in overtime against the Leopards.
• The last OT outing between Suffolk and WIT was Sept. 26, 1996. The Rams won 3-2.

EYES ON THE GAME

WHAT'S NEXT?
The victor of Thursday's tangle advances to the CCC Quarterfinals at the field's second seed Roger Williams this Saturday, Oct. 30.