NORFOLK, VA—The 2014 Conference-USA Champion Monarchs of Old Dominion (12-6-1) will host the Terriers of St. Francis Brooklyn (11-5-4), champions of the Northeast Conference Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex. The winner will meet the eighth seeded Georgetown Hoyas (12-4-4) on Sunday in Washington, DC. This is ODU’s fifth straight NCAA appearance.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for faculty staff, military and youth. ODU students will be admitted free with their student I.D.
“It’s been a great ride, and we are excited to be at home. With our backs against the wall, we won five straight, beating the likes of New Mexico, Charlotte and South Carolina to win the league title and the automatic berth,” said ODU head coach Alan Dawson. “We are looking forward to Thursday night and playing in front of our fans.” Under Dawson, the nation’s 13th winningest active coach the Monarchs have reached the NCAA tournament five straight years and 11 of the last 13.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools. St. Francis is led in scoring by All-NEC junior forward John Makaya with eight goals, one assist and 17 points. Freshman midfielder and All-NEC Vincent Bezecourt is the teams assist leader with six, while All-NEC junior goalkeer Jack Binks has nine shutouts with a 0.68 goals against average. Head coach Tom Giovatto, the 2013 NSCAA North Atlantic Region Coach of the Year is in his ninth season at St. Francis.
The Monarchs will be led in scoring by C-USA Tournament Offensive MVP Sidney Rivera who has seven goals, four of which he scored in the league tournament. In all, he has scored six goals in the last five matches, including three game winners. David Macsicza, the C-USA tournament Defensive MVP along with goalkeeper Alex Tiesenhausen help anchor the Monarchs defense. Tiesenhausen leads C-USA with 85 total saves.
Last year, the Monarchs defeated Drexel in the first round and lost to Georgetown in the second. ODU has advanced to the third round twice, in 2006 and 2007.
Joining the Monarchs in the field are fellow C-USA rivals Charlotte, Kentucky and UAB.