The Misericordia men's soccer team, ranked #7 in the Mid-Atlantic Region, will head to Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD this weekend for the opening rounds of the 2009 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships

Misericordia will face Johns Hopkins (15-3-2) in the first round on Saturday at 11 AM. Salisbury (14-3-1) will host Virginia Wesleyan (14-3-3) in the other game. The first round winners will face off on Sunday, November 15.

MU (12-4-3) earned their second straight NCAA bid by beating Manhattanville on Saturday in the Freedom Conference championship. The Cougars got a memorable performance from goalkeeper Andrew Loyd in the title game, as the senior made 11 saves including a string of late stops to preserve the 1-0 win.

Offensively, MU has been led by midfielder Joey Scanlon. The junior not only led the Freedom in conference-only scoring, but also converted a string of huge goals to help the Cougars win the championship. He scored the game-winner against Eastern to clinch a playoff spot, added the winner against King's to clinch the second seed, scored twice in the second half to erase a 2-0 Wilkes advantage in the semifinal, and then scored the winning goal in the championship match against Manhattanville.

A tough Cougar defense led by starters Bryan Kulbacki, Tyler Anderson, Greg Korhonen and Chris Hummel has only allowed 0.86 goals per game this season.

Johns Hopkins (#2 in the Mid-Atlantic Region) defeated Dickinson 2-1 on Saturday to win their eighth Centennial Conference title. The Blue Jays recovered from an early 1-0 deficit and scored the winner in the 58th minute through Max Venker. Venker has a penchant for big-time goals, as the senior notched the third conference championship-winning goal of his four-year career.

Junior striker Scott Bukoski carries a big part of the scoring load for Hopkins, having notched 14 of the Blue Jays' 38 goals in 2009. Chris Wilson and Kevin Hueber have a team-leading five assists each.

In goal, senior Ravi Gill has started all 20 games, with an impressive 0.54 goals against average and 10 shutouts.

The Blue Jays and the Cougars have faced two common opponents in 2009. Johns Hopkins twice defeated Dickinson, a team that beat Misericordia in the season-opener. Hopkins also lost to Gettysburg, who the Cougars tied this year.

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