St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team is set to face UW-Platteville in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m. Gustavus enters the tournament ranked No. 22 with an overall record of 15-2-1.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live video and live stats will be provided by the Carleton Sports Information Department through the links below.
PREVIEW
Saturday’s match between Gustavus and UW-Platteville will be the fourth meeting between the two schools. The Pioneers hold the advantage in the all-time series with a mark of 2-1. Gustavus took the last meeting by a 4-0 score back in 1993.
Gustavus finished the 2012 regular season with an overall record of 14-2-1 and an MIAC mark of 8-1-1. With a 1-0 victory over Macalester in their season finale, the Gusties earned a share of the conference title, their first since 2007, alongside Carleton who also finished 8-1-1 in league play.
In the squad’s second consecutive appearance in the MIAC Playoffs under the direction of Head Coach Mike Middleton, Gustavus earned a pair of victories to receive the MIAC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Gustavus defeated St. Thomas 1-0 on Tuesday, Oct. 30 before playing Carleton to a 0-0 tie and advancing on penalty kicks 7-6 in seven rounds.
The Golden Gusties are making their ninth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Gustavus last qualified for NCAA post-season play in 2007. In their previous eight trips to the tournament, the Gusties hold an all-time record of 8-6-5. Gustavus suffered a 2-1 loss to Whitworth University in the first round of its last NCAA Tournament showing in 2007.
Built as a possession team with one of the top back lines in the country, Gustavus enters Saturday’s match ranked 16th in NCAA Division III in goals against average at 0.58. The Gusties are averaging 2.3 goals per game with 148 of their 311 total shot attempts coming on goal for a shots on goal percentage of .476. Gustavus has outshot its opponents by an average of 16.4-to-10.
Leading the Gusties in scoring with over 1,000 minutes logged on the pitch is Zach Brown (Jr., Eau Claire, Wis.). Brown ranks 52nd in the nation in total points with 31 off of 14 goals and three assists. His 14 goals currently rank second in the MIAC and 33rd in the country. Konnor Tranoris (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa) sits second the team in scoring with 16 points (6G, 4A), while David Lilly (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) ranks third with 11 points (1g, 9A). The general of Gustavus’ midfield, Lilly’s nine assists ranks 29th in the NCAA.
Behind Gustavus’ defense that has allowed just 11 goals on the year sits sophomore goalkeeper Brett Ylonen (Lake Elmo, Minn.). Ylonen enters the NCAA Tournament with a record of 14-2-2. His .892 save percentage ranks sixth in the nation and his 0.47 goals against average ranks 14th. Since a 2-0 win over Bethel on Oct. 5, the second-year keeper has not allowed a goal in over 750 consecutive minutes and holds an 8-0-0 record within that time.