BEARS TO FACE #10 SMU IN FIRST ROUND OF NCAA TOURNAMENT

[Seminole Indian]

Dallas, Texas – The Central Arkansas men's soccer team will make the first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance in program history on Thursday night at 7:00 PM, travelling to Dallas, Texas to take on the SMU Mustangs.

Central Arkansas (9-10-1) earned the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning a pair of heart-stoppers in the MVC Tournament. The Bears, who entered the tournament as the second seed after going 5-3-0 in Valley play this season, opened tourney play by advancing past host Bradley 8-7 on penalty kicks before defeating top-seeded Missouri State 1-0 thanks to a 95th minute strike from MVC Player of the Year Niklas Brodacki.

Central Arkansas enters Thursday's match averaging 1.70 per game on 13.7 shots, and allowing 1.45 goals per game on 13.3 shots. The Bears are led by Brodacki, who leads the nation with 17 goals and ranks second with 35 points. All-MVC First Team selection Pepe San Roman has added four goals and four assists, while Second Team selection Chris Holmes has added a pair of goals and five assists and All-MVC Honorable Mention Daltyn Knutson has chipped in with two goals and three assists. In goal, All-MVC Honorable Mention selection Marc Olsen is allowing 1.26 goals per game with a save percentage of .742 and four shutouts on the year.

SMU (15-2-1) enters Thursday's match as the first team to win both The American regular season and tournament titles, and features one of the country's premier defenses. Through 18 matches this season, the Mustangs have recorded 11 shutouts and allowed just 10 goals, good for an average of just 0.56 goals per game. Offensively, SMU is led by Garrett McLaughlin, who is tied for the AAC lead in points with 29, having scored 13 times and added three assists , and Mauro Cichero, who has nine goals and seven assists. In goal, Michael Nelson has allowed 10 goals in 1,648:55 (0.55 GAA), while compiling a save percentage of .839 and tallying nine clean sheets.

The winner of Thursday's match will advance in the NCAA Tournament, heading to Washington D.C. to take on 14th-seeded Georgetown at 1:00 PM EST on Sunday afternoon. 

http://www.ucasports.com/news/2017/11/15/MSOC_1115172.aspx