Big Green Ready For St. Francis in NCAA First Round

NCAA COLLEGE CUP FIRST ROUND

Dartmouth Big Green (8-4-5, 5-1-1 Ivy League) vs.
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (12-4-3, 6-0-1 NEC)
Date: – Thursday Nov. 17, 5 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Burnham Field
Series: Tied 1-1-0

THURSDAY'S GAME
After winning its third consecutive Ivy League championship, the Dartmouth men's soccer team will host NEC champion, St Francis Brooklyn for the first round of the 2016 NCAA College Cup.

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
St. Francis Brooklyn is coming off a successful NEC tile run that saw the Terriers defeat Sacred Heart, 1-0, before taking down Saint Francis University, 1-0 in double overtime on Nov. 13 for the league crown. This will be the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance for the Terriers and their first since 2014, when St. Francis Brooklyn lost in the first round to Old Dominion, 3-0. The furthest the Terriers have gone in the postseason was in 1978 when St. Francis Brooklyn advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Clemson, 4-0. As a team, the Terriers have scored 26 times this season, six of those goals came from Yussuf Olajide, while Salvatore Barone has scored five times.

LAST TIME AGAINST ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN
The Big Green and St. Francis Brooklyn have met just twice in program history. Their last meeting was on Oct. 10, 1998 when the Terriers traveled to Hanover to face No. 17 Dartmouth. The Big Green prevailed 3-1, after all four goals were scored in the second half. Duke Shamo got St. Francis Brooklyn on the scoreboard early in the 49th minute, but less than a minute later, Dartmouth's Chris Pedrick found the back of the net for the equalizer. Brad Christof added an insurance goal in the 65th minute before Nick Magnuson's tally in the 82nd. The Big Green's Matt Nyman needed to make just two saves to earn the victory, while Michel Peters made four stops on the other end of the field for the Terriers.

LAST TIME OUT
Dartmouth clinched the Ivy League title with a 2-0 victory over Brown at Burnham Field on Senior Day last Saturday night. Since the Big Green defeated Columbia earlier this season, Dartmouth earned the Ancient Eight's automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup. This year's conference championship is also the third championship for the Class of 2017, which was honored in a ceremony after Saturday's match. Noah Paravicini got the scoring started after he received a pass in the middle of the box from Emmanuel Arteaga and finished on a shot to the lower right corner of the goal for his team-leading fourth goal. In the second half, the Big Green got an insurance goal when Matt Danilack netted his third goal of the season. Justin Donawa was able to find Danilack in front of the goalkeeper as Danilack headed in the second Dartmouth goal of the night.

THEY'RE BACK!
This will be the 17th NCAA Tournament appearance for the Big Green in school history. The farthest Dartmouth has advanced is the third round, which the team has done four times, most recently in 2010. In that contest, the Big Green lost to eighth-seeded UCLA, 2-1 in double overtime. This will be the third trip to the College Cup under Bobby Clark Head Coach of Men's Soccer, Chad Riley. In both previous trips to the post season, Riley led Dartmouth to the second round of the tournament.

FAMILIAR FOE
Should the Big Green prevail on Thursday against St. Francis, Dartmouth will travel to eighth-seeded Syracuse for round two. Last year, the Big Green fell to the sixth-seeded Orange, 2-1. In that contest, Donawa scored the lone goal for Dartmouth in the first half, before Syracuse tacked on two scores in the second. The Orange eventually advanced to the Final Four of the College Cup, where they were downed by third-seeded and National Champion runner-up, Clemson.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
James Hickok and the Big Green defense have come up big in 2016. Hickok finished second in the Ivy League in save percentage (.841) and goals-against average (0.64). The Westport, Connecticut native posted six shutout victories this season and has been backed up by a defense that has only allowed 12 goals all year.

NET WORTH
Paravicini leads Dartmouth with four goals this season. Last week he was named Co-Ivy League Player of the Week for his efforts against the Bears. Matt Danilack has also been a consistent player on the offensive side of the ball for the Big Green with a team-high 11 points, on three goals and four assists.

RISING IN THE RANKINGS
Dartmouth is ranked No. 25 in the nation in the NCAA Men's Soccer RPI rankings. The Big Green are the highest Ancient Eight school on the list that is based on a team's wins, losses and its strength of schedule. Dartmouth's defense is also ranked No. 12 in the nation with a .66 goals-against-average.

FOLLOW ALONG
Can't make it to the game? The match can be seen live on the Ivy League Digital Network at no cost. DartmouthSports.com will also provide live stats for those looking to follow along during the contest.

LOOKING AHEAD
The winner of Thursday's game will advance to the second round to face eighth-seeded Syracuse in Syracuse, N.Y. on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m.

Schedules