Box Score

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – A goal in each half and a stout defensive effort for the team's sixth shutout of the season helped lift the Lycoming College men's soccer team into the Commonwealth Conference playoffs for the first time since 2008 with a 2-0 win over Hood College on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.
 
The win over the Blazers (5-11 overall, 2-6-1 Commonwealth) clinched the Warriors' first playoff bid in five years, as a win by Alvernia over Stevenson and a Lebanon Valley win over Arcadia helped clear up the playoff picture and helping Lycoming clinch the No. 4 seed. The Warriors will host Lebanon Valley in the first round of the Commonwealth Conference Tournament on Monday, Nov. 4, at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.
 
The Warriors (9-7-2 overall, 4-4-1 Commonwealth) got on the board in the 12^th minute when junior Nate Smith (Ulster, Pa./Troy) found junior Kevin Seymour (Mt. Airy, Md./South Carroll) streaking down the left side. After one touch, Seymour drilled a laser into the upper left corner to give Lycoming the lead.
 
In the second half, the Warriors added to the lead, as senior Justin Walker (Stroudsburg, Pa./Moravian Academy) threw the ball into the box on a sideout, and senior Connor McNiff (Marietta, Pa./Donegal) chipped the ball over the keeper and it landed in the left corner of the net.
 
Lycoming stayed aggressive throughout the game, taking 15 shots, forcing Hood keeper Ian McDonald to make five stops. Hood took eight shots, with junior Connor Keenan (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) making four saves in the shutout.
 
First-year head coach Nate Gibboney is the first rookie men's soccer coach to reach the conference playoffs in school history and he is just the second rookie coach to post a winning record.
 
Before the match, Walker and McNiff were honored in a short ceremony as the team's seniors.