Men’s Soccer to Face Merrimack in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament

Men's Soccer | 11/6/2017 12:00:00 AM

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Goldey-Beacom, champions of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference for the second time in team history, will face Merrimack in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The game will take place Thursday at 7:00 pm on the campus of Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. The winner between the sixth-seeded Lightning and third-seeded Warriors (16-2-2) will face the No. 2 seed Panthers (13-2-2) in the second round on Saturday at 7:00 pm, also on Long Island.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $3 for all students with a valid ID and $5 for children ages 2-12 as well as senior citizens. There are no complimentary tickets and all at least age 2 must pay admission.

GBC (16-4-1, 9-2-1 CACC) earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament thanks to Sunday's 2-1 overtime victory against Jefferson in the CACC final. Freshman midfielder Nicholas Ladeira (Johannesburg, South Africa), who also scored the overtime winner in Friday's semifinal vs. Post, netted the winning tally off an assist from junior midfielder Chahin Aghrim (Bonn, Germany).

Ladeira has been an unbelievable find this season, coming up with multiple clutch tallies that included three overtime markers. He is 29th in the country with four game-winning goals, ninth with eight goals and 11th with 19 points.

Aghrim, picked first team All-CACC the last two years, continues to be one of the best playmakers and finishers quite possibly in the program's history. An incredible catalyst who controls everything in the offense, he is first in the country with 15 assists, third with 0.71 assists per game, 10th with 35 points, 34th with 1.67 points per game, 57th with 10 goals and 59th with three game-winning goals.

Aghrim's 15th assist of the year during Sunday's final tied him with Matt DiGiacobbe for the school's single-season record. His 24 career assists puts him one back of GBC Athletics Hall of Famer Jason McCloskey (2000-03) for second in team annals.

Goldey-Beacom leads the country with 63 goals, also is first with 3.0 goals per game, is second with 174 points and fourth with 48 assists.

The defense is anchored by junior Suhail Bismilla (Johannesburg, South Africa), the reigning CACC Goalkeeper of the Year and two-time first team All-CACC pick. A vocal leader and incredible spark plug for all of his teammates, Bismilla is 10th in the country with 1,754 minutes, 33th with six shutouts and 39th with 78 saves.

Bismilla also has a school-record 11 shutouts to his credit and is fourth with 209 saves.

Senior Declyn Brown (Glasgow, Scotland) also is a key component for the defense and finally got his due in being tabbed first team All-CACC. He is the center back for a defense which has allowed just 23 goals this season, notched eight shutouts and 13 games in which did not permit more than one goal.

Senior midfielder Mateus Silvestre (Picarras, Brazil) was tabbed first team all-league and continues to be one of the squad's most reliable players. He is 14th in the CACC with seven goals, 13th with four assists and 12th with 18 points.

Ladeira, Bismilla, Aghrim, Silvestre and sophomore Levi Maruca (Downingtown, PA) were picked to the all-tournament team.

It will not be the program's first appearance on the national stage as it went to the NAIA National Tournament in 2002, its last year in the organization. The following year, GBC won its first CACC crown and played in the ECAC final.

This also marks the 11th CACC title for the College and second this academic year with the women's tennis team upending Wilmington (DE), 5-3, on October 22.

Goldey-Beacom also tied the school record for most wins in a season, established in 1997 and duplicated in 2002.

It will be a meeting of league champions as Merrimack, ranked 18th in the country, captured the Northeast-10 Conference title Sunday with a 2-1 overtime victory over Bentley.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Chahin Aghrim: M; 5' 8"; Junior

#1 Suhail Bismilla: GK; 6' 0"; Junior

#4 Declyn Brown: D; 6' 1"; Senior

#12 Levi Maruca: M; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#10 Mateus Silvestre: M; 5' 6"; Senior

#3 Nicholas Ladeira: M; 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#9 Chahin Aghrim
: 5' 8"; Junior
: M

#1 Suhail Bismilla
: 6' 0"; Junior
: GK

#4 Declyn Brown
: 6' 1"; Senior
: D

#12 Levi Maruca
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: M

#10 Mateus Silvestre
: 5' 6"; Senior
: M

#3 Nicholas Ladeira
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: M