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HAVERFORD, Pa. – After a thrilling conclusion to the regular season, the Haverford College men's soccer team will look to provide even more excitement in the upcoming week as the Fords get set for the Centennial Conference Tournament. Fourth-seeded Haverford (9-6-1, 4-4-1 CC) will open the tournament this Wednesday at home against fifth-seeded Johns Hopkins (9-6-2, 3-5-1 CC). That matchup will take place at 2 p.m. on Walton Field. The Fords are 6-1 on Walton Field this season.
The winner of Wednesday's game will move onto the conference semifinals and face top-seeded tournament host Franklin & Marshall (15-0-2, 8-0-1 CC). Muhlenberg (12-1-2, 7-1-1 CC) and Dickinson (11-4-2, 6-2-1 CC) will play in the other semifinal on Saturday at F&M with the championship match slated for Sunday.
Haverford was a 2-0 winner back on September 20 against Johns Hopkins in what was the Fords' conference opener. Haverford struck quickly with a goal from Russell Nicholson just 2:13 into that contest. Sam Yarosh added the insurance goal in the 24th minute. Chris Gibson received the start in goal during that game for the Fords and stopped all five shots on goal that he faced to record the shutout.
The Fords enter the postseason averaging just under two goals per game on the season. Leading the way for the team on the offensive end is Brady Seitz, Seitz leads the Centennial Conference in both goals (11) and points (25) entering the postseason. In total, 10 different players have scored for Haverford this season. Tejan Walcott is second on the team with six goals, while Ben Field and Nicholson each have three goals. Maclyn Willigan and Yarosh each have two goals, while four others have a single goal on the season.
Setting up the offense, 10 players also have an assist on the season to give Haverford 12 players with at least one point this year. Will Corkery has a team-high six helpers, while Yarosh has passed out four assists. The Seitz brothers, Colin Seitz and Brady Seitz, each have three assists on the year, as does Field.
In goal, Sam Miller has seen the majority of the action this season as he has started 12 games for the Fords. He has posted four shutouts and ranks fourth in the conference in saves with 50 stops on the year. Haverford is 8-3-1 in Miller's starts this season. Gibson has appeared in eight games, making four starts in goal. He has logged 280:12 of playing time and has the aforementioned shutout of Johns Hopkins as well as a combined shutout with Miller.
Johns Hopkins is led offensively by Kotaro Mitsuhashi as he has scored nine goals this season. Kenny DeStefano and Samy Ramadane each have four goals on the season. Ian Heinrich is leading the team with four assists. Matt Paris has made 11 starts for Johns Hopkins in goal on the year, including the first half against Haverford. He is 7-2-2 with a 0.66 goals against average and six shutouts.
The men's soccer program has made the Centennial Conference Tournament in each of its four seasons under head coach Shane Rineer. The Fords have made it to at least the conference semifinals in each of the previous three seasons. The Fords were 2012 Centennial Champions after entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed a year after finishing as the conference runner-up on penalty kicks as the No. 5 seed.
Johns Hopkins and Haverford's only meeting in the Centennial Conference Tournament came during the 2011 season when the Fords topped the No. 1 Blue Jays by a 2-1 score in the semifinals.
Fans unable to make Wednesday's contest can follow along through live stats and live video linked at the top of the page. For updates on all the Centennial Conference Championships that are taking place this weekend, be sure to visit "Championship Central" on the HaverfordAthletics.com homepage.
