Men's Soccer Earns Second Straight NCAA Bid; Violets to Host Hamilton Saturday at NJIT

11/05/07

For the second consecutive season, the New York University men's soccer team is penciled into the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships bracket. The Violets earned an at-large invitation and will host the first and second rounds on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 10 and 11, at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ.

NYU's (13-4-1) first-round opponent will be Hamilton College, the Liberty League champion, on Saturday 40 minutes after the conclusion of the other first-round contest between New Jersey City University (16-4-1), the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament runner-up, and Castleton State College of Vermont (13-7-1), the North Atlantic Conference champion, which will be played Saturday at 6 p.m.

The winners of the two first-round games will play in the second round Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m.

Senior midfielders Jeritt Thayer and Matthew Ramirez anxiously watched the NCAA Championships selection show online on CSTV at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business computer lab. When NYU's name flashed across the monitor, Thayer recalled with a laugh, "Matt and I just jumped out of our chairs and scared everyone around us."

"It's extremely exciting," said Ramirez, one of the Violets' top offensive threats. "It's just a huge thrill to get in. It's a whole new season now."

Added Thayer: "It's a new season and it's an amazing feeling to have this opportunity again."

This is the second consecutive season the Violets have made the NCAA Division III field, and just the third-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships. In 2006, NYU advanced to the Final Four while setting a school record for victories (15-4-4). The Violets hosted the first and second rounds, as well as the sectional semifinals and finals, at NJIT. They went 2-0-2 in their four home games, including two shutout victories and advancing via a pair of shootout wins.

NYU is led by 2006 All-American Jeritt Thayer (14 goals, 2 assists, 30 points, 5 game-winning goals), the program's all-time leader with 35 career goals. Junior forwards Adam Dhanens (7-6-20) and Branden Neal (6-7-19), as well as Ramirez (4-5-13) and freshman midfielder Anthony Tumbiolo (1-8-10), provided considerable offensive punch.

"It's a great acheivement by the team," NYU head coach Joe Behan said. "They were under an element of pressure to prove they could do it again and they came through against Brandeis on Saturday. They produced the goods, no doubt about it."

NYU was one of four University Athletic Association (UAA) teams to make the NCAA Division III Championships field of 57 teams. UAA champion University of Rochester earned an automatic bid, while Emory University and Washington University both garnered at-large invitations. The Violets finished fourth in the UAA with a 4-3 record in league play.