The Malone University men's soccer team will be playing postseason soccer for the first time since 2012 when the eighth seeded Pioneers take on the number one seed in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament, the Lake Erie Storm. The G-MAC Quarterfinal game will be played at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium, the home turf for the higher seeded Storm, on November 9 at 7 pm.
 
Malone finished the regular season with a record of 4-6-6, 3-6-5 in conference play. Six ties in a season is the most in program history for the Pioneer men. Lake Erie is the NCAA Division II number four team and holds the top spot in the G-MAC. The Storm are 17-1-0 and 13-1-0. Their lone loss on the season is in late October to Cedarville.
 
The full bracket for the G-MAC Championships is pictured below:
 

 
Follow Along:
#8 Malone @ #1 Lake Erie
Saturday, November 9 at 7 pm
Live Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lakeerie/
Live Stats: https://www.lakeeriestorm.com/sports/msoc/2019-20/boxscores/20191109_58oo.xml
 
Previous Matchups:
In the 2019 season, Malone and Lake Erie met twice, both games early in the season. Lake Erie survived with a 1-0 overtime win in the first conference game of the year for both teams on September 10. In the second matchup, Lake Erie won at home 5-1 in a rainy night match that saw all six goals take place in the final 11 minutes.
 
#8 Malone Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 4-6-6 (3-6-5)
 
The Pioneers picked up a post-season clinching 0-0 draw on Tuesday at Walsh after being on the outside looking in heading into the final day of the regular season. In a strange end to the regular season, Malone recorded ties in four of the final five games, the first time in program history that has been done. The Pioneers have just one loss in their last eight games.
 
Nathan McFeaters has been a huge offensive spark late in the season. McFeaters leads the team and is third in the G-MAC in goals scored with 10. He also has two assists and has accumulated 22 points, good for fifth in the conference.
 
Joining McFeaters on the offensive side of the ball are Evan Dekker and Gino Finelli. Dekker has netted three goals in the last two weeks for the Pioneers and Finelli scored his lone goal of the season against Trevecca Nazarene but has been a major contributor in moving the ball deep into the offensive zone.
 
Defensively, the Pioneers have rotated in a variety of defenders. Nick Fry leads the team in minutes played this season with 1,572 and Patrick Alvarez has scored two goals while rotating between an outside back and centerback. Jeff Kreinbrook, Jamal Rasheed and Jonathan Dendinger have gotten quality minutes on the backline as well and are crucial to the success of the Pioneers.
 
In goal this season, Alexandre Durand has started 12 games, allowed an average of 1.03 goals per game, collected 57 saves and two shutouts. As a team, the Pioneers are second in saves per game with 5.12.
 
#1 Lake Erie Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 17-1-0 (13-1-0)
 
Lake Erie has put out a storm warning to the rest of the G-MAC this season that they are the team to beat heading into the post-season. The Storm have climbed all the way up to NCAA Division II number four and have only dropped one match. Lake Erie has won five in a row to end the regular season after 12 straight victories to start 2019.
 
Lake Erie has the conference's best scoring offense and scoring defense. The Storm average 2.39 goals per game this season and allow a miniscule .33 goals per game.
 
Jonathon Carr leads the team and is tied for the conference lead with 12 goals this season. Carr also has five game-winning goals on the year. Behind him, are a pair of freshman forwards Tom Akinola and Ayden Von Essen with seven goals apiece.
 
Rodrigo Bonfim, Jamos Hauk, Omar Oliveros-Alvarez and Luca Ragagnin have all started at least 17 of the team's 18 games this season and have contributed to the team's elite defense.
 
Goalkeeper Tom John leads NCAA Division II with 12 shutouts, is second in D-II in individual goals against average with .289 and second in save percentage at .924. John anchors the Storm defense and leads the conference in most goalkeeping categories.