NCAA Division III Tournament Bracket

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – To some, the thought of playing the nation's second-ranked team might be intimidating. At this point, though, the Lycoming College men's soccer team is used to it. They are used to playing tough opponents. They are used to having their backs against the wall. And they will expect no less on Sunday, Nov. 17, when they head to undefeated Rutgers-Camden for a 1 p.m. NCAA Tournament Second Round game.
 
Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for seniors and students and $2 for children from 3-12 years old. Children under three are free.
 
In the past week, the Warriors (11-7-4 overall) have managed to score just two goals and shutout the defending national champions. They have posted five straight shutouts, won in penalty kicks twice, and scratched and clawed to keep playing soccer in 2013.
 
Now, there is no doubt, from a team that finished 4-10-2 in 2012, that the Warriors are one of the best 32 NCAA Division III teams in the country.
 
The streak that the team has been on is more than impressive – it has been downright unfathomable. With their backs against the wall and needing to win each time, the Warriors have locked down Hood, Lebanon Valley, No. 1 Messiah, Elizabethtown and Freedom Conference champion King's, marking a school-record string of 538 minutes that the team has not given up a goal.
 
The Warrior defense has become one of the stingiest in school history, as the 0.82 goals allowed is the second-lowest average in school history, and junior goalkeeper Connor Keenan's average of 0.77 goals allowed per game is tied for the best mark in program history. Keenan (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) has recorded eight shutouts, which is also second-best in program history, and made 22 saves in the course of the last five games without giving up a goal.
 
That defense is paced by freshman Bill Kerr (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic), the Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year, and senior duo Connor McNiff (Marietta, Pa./Donegal) and Justin Walker (Stroudsburg, Pa./Moravian Academy). Junior Ethan Wilston (Mansfield, Pa./Mansfield Area) rounds out the four-man defensive line that has allowed just 11.6 shots per game.
 
Rutgers-Camden has won seven straight games, including a 2-0 win over Rutgers-Newark to capture its third consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference championship. Overall, Rutgers-Camden owns a 33-game undefeated streak (28-0-5) dating back to last season. Mike Ryan leads the team with 19 goals and four assists and Mitch Grotti is second on the team with seven goals and nine assists. The Scarlet Raptors have a high-scoring offense that averages 2.65 goals per game, while goalkeeper Mike Randall has pitched 11 shutouts and allowed 0.65 goals per game.