UAA Athletes of the Week
Offense:
Sam Ocel
Brandeis University
North Attleboro, MA (North Attleboro)
Senior midfielder Sam Ocel of Brandeis University scored all three of his team’s goals as the Judges became the only UAA squad to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship. He tallied twice in the first 13 minutes of the Judges’ 2-0 win over Baruch College and then scored with 29.5 seconds left in regulation in a 1-0 victory over Vassar College. The game-winners were his eighth and ninth of the season.
Defense:
Blake Minchoff
Brandeis University
Fiskdale, MA (Tantasqua Regional)
Brandeis University senior goalkeeper Blake Minchoff recorded his eighth and ninth shutouts of the season as the Judges advanced to the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Sectional Round. He made four saves in a 2-0 Judges’ win over Baruch College and stopped three shots in a 1-0 victory over Vassar College.
Other Outstanding Performances
Brandeis won its first NCAA tournament game since 1984, when the Judges advanced to the national championship. Brandeis is one of four schools with both its men’s and women’s team in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16; Andrew Natalino (Emory) scored twice and added an assist to set a single-game postseason school record in the Eagles’ 4-1 win over Roanoke College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship. Alex Scott led the defense that limited Roanoke to three shots on goal as the Eagles became the first team since 2009 to hold Messiah College to fewer than 10 shots in the second round; Kyle Green (NYU) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the ECAC Division III Metro Championship, which the Violets won with a 2-0-1 record. He scored the game-winner with 3:08 left in a 2-0 win over College of Staten Island in the semifinals and connected on a penalty kick in the shootout win over Richard Stockton College in the tournament final. The ECAC title was the team’s first since 2001; Alex Swanger (Rochester) scored on a free kick with five minutes left in regulation to force overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He also made one of the Yellowjackets’ successful penalty kicks as they advanced 5-4 in the shootout. Scott Garfing stopped a penalty kick to give the Yellowjackets the shootout win.
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