#CUWStatsInfo: Men's Soccer visits Aurora to begin NACC Tournament
MEQUON, Wis. – Back on October 11, the Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Soccer team dropped a 3-1 contest against Aurora University at Fitting Field. The match dropped the Falcons to 2-3-0 in league play and also put NACC Tournament hopes in jeopardy.
While making the league tournament is a difficult task, the Falcons have made it seem easy during their run in the NACC. Since the league began 2006, CUW has qualified for the conference tournament every season. They are just one of three teams to accomplish that feat, along with Aurora and Dominican University.
Following the loss against Aurora on October 11, CUW put together a strong finishing stretch going 3-1-1 over its final five league matches. The Falcons posted shutout wins over Marian University and Edgewood College, the latter earning them the fifth seed in the NACC Tournament. CUW will travel to Aurora for that match Sunday and #CUWStatsInfo breaks down the matchup.
2 – The two times CUW has advanced to the NACC Tournament Championship match (2006 and 2012) they have had to go through Aurora to get there. The Falcons won a 1-0 semifinal matchup in 2006 and advanced on a shootout in 2012.
4 – The Falcons and Spartans have met four times in the NACC Tournament. The two faced off on the pitch in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012, with the Falcons posting a 2-1-1 record. CUW is 1-0-1 in the two matches played at Aurora, a semifinal win in 2006 and a semifinal tie in 2012.
CUW vs. Aurora NACC Tournament Matches:
Nov. 1, 2006 – CUW 1, @AU 0
Nov. 4, 2008 – AU 1, @ CUW 0
Nov. 1, 2009 - @ CUW 2, AU 1
Oct. 31, 2012 – CUW 1, @ AU 1 (CUW advances 4-3 on PKs)
3 – In three of the previous four NACC Tournament meetings, the team that has won the regular season meeting has not been the team to advance in the tournament. In 2006, Aurora won a 2-1 overtime match in September but the Falcons responded with a 1-0 NACC Tournament win. In 2008, the Falcons posted a 1-0 regular season win, but AU answered with a 1-0 tournament victory. Finally, in 2012 the Falcons fell 3-2 in double-overtime, but advanced on the shootout in the tournament.
2012 – While all the contests in NACC Tournament play between AU and CUW have been classics, the 2012 one may have been the best. CUW advanced to the league championship via a 4-3 shootout win over the Spartans. The match goes down in the records as a 1-1 draw, but the Falcons had the opportunity to play for the NACC Championship for the second time in program history.
5 – One of the Falcons or Spartans has played in the NACC Championship five of the eight years of the league tournament. Unfortunately for the Falcons and Spartans they are 0-5-0 in those contests, as Dominican has captured the league championship in each of the eight seasons.
7 – The Falcons have won seven matches in their eight NACC Tournament appearances. CUW owns a 7-8-1 overall record and has won at least one match in tournament play in six of the eight seasons.
11 – This season CUW has been paced by junior Keegan Van Dusseldorp (Burlington, Wis.). The forward is tied for third in the NACC with 11 goals scored and also leads the conference with 92 shots. He has four goals in eight conference matches this season.
0.96 – The Falcons can expect to see Spartans' Zach McFarland at keeper Sunday. McFarland ranks fourth in the NACC with a 0.96 goals against average. He played all 90 minutes in the 3-1 win over CUW earlier this season, making three saves.
The Falcons and Spartans have certainly had some memorable NACC moments and will likely deliver another one on Sunday. The winner will advance to the semifinal round Wednesday and face either No. 1 seed Dominican or No. 2 MSOE.
