Owls Draw Muhlenberg in Opening Round of NCAA's; Will Play at Stevens Institute in New Jersey

KEENE, N.H.  11/8/10 – The Keene State College men’s soccer team is headed to New Jersey for its opening-round NCAA Tournament game.

Making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2007, the Owls (14-4-2) will play Muhlenberg College (11-2-6) from Allentown, Pa. in their opening-round game at Steven Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. on Saturday (1:30 p.m.).

If Keene State can post a victory its opening game, the Owls will face the winner of the game between Stevens Institute and Hunter (N.Y.) College on Sunday (1 p.m.).

Keene State men’s soccer coach Ron Butcher wasn’t surprised that the Owls were sent out of the region.   “It’s very confusing, but we were the last ranked team in New England and the NCAA decided to send to us to New Jersey, Butcher said. 

As far as playing Muhlenberg, Butcher said “they don’t know us and we don’t know them, so it’s a question of how much can I found out about them and how much can they find out about us.”

Another problem confronting KSC is the field surface at Stevens Institute. The Ducks play on field turf, which according to Butcher isn’t the Owls’ surface of choice.

Keene State, which defeated Rhode Island College 1-0 in the Little East Championship game on Sunday, will be making its 10th trip to the NCAA tournament. The Owls won first-round games in 1999, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Muhlenberg earned an at-large berth to the tournament after losing in the Centennial Conference finals to Swarthmore in double-overtime 2-1. Over the years, the Mules have earned 13 NCAA bids, including a trip to the semifinals in 1995. Since taking over the Muhlenberg program in 2002, head coach Sean Topping has led the Mules to three NCAA appearances (2003, 2005, and 2007).  The 2003 team advanced to the second-round.

Host Stevens Institute is a perennial NCAA power. The Ducks, who won their fourth straight Empire-8 title with a 1-0 victory over Nazareth College, have appeared in the NCAA Tournament seven years in a row and is one of just two schools in the country to be ranked in the NSCAA Top-25 at the end of each of the past seven seasons.

Hunter College claimed the CUNY men’s soccer championship with a 2-0 victory over Lehman College.

Forced to play three games in a span of five days, the Owls will take advantage of some well-deserved time off before heading to New Jersey on Friday.  “The guys have played a lot of soccer, so we’re going to give them a few days to clear their heads,” said Butcher.  “They’ve waiting a long time to get back to the NCAAs, so I’m sure they’ll be ready to go.”