Marywood University Pacers

Jayce Wilson has led the Pacers to five clean sheets.

Men's Soccer 10/27/2023 4:59:00 PM

AEC PREVIEW | No. 3 Marywood to Play First Home Playoff Date Since 2015

Pacers take on Gwynedd Mercy on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Scranton, Pa. — Third-seeded Marywood University will play its first home men's soccer playoff game since 2015 Saturday in the Atlantic East Conference First Round. The Pacers will take on No. 6 Gwynedd Mercy at 1 p.m. at the Turf Field Complex, and it will be aired on the Atlantic East Network.

The Pacers are riding a four-game undefeated streak into the playoffs. Marywood (7-8-2) won out in a three-way tiebreaker thanks to a late Jack Forbes goal in the 82nd minute of a 1-0 decision against Immaculata University. Forbes' goal put the Pacers even with both Marymount University and the Mighty Macs with a 2-2-2 conference record. Marywood had the edge thanks to four combined points against the Saints and Macs.

It marks the third consecutive postseason appearance for the Pacers. Saturday's game pits two teams that battled for the last remaining playoff spot in each of the past four Atlantic East Conference men's soccer seasons. Marywood beat out the Griffins for the No. 6 seed in three of the first four seasons in Atlantic East's brief history.

Gwynedd Mercy (4-7-6, 2-3-1) makes its first postseason appearance of the decade. The Griffins last qualified in 2019, falling 2-1 to third-seeded Marymount in the first round. Gwynedd Mercy blanked Centenary 3-0 on the final day of the regular season to qualify for the Atlantic East playoffs.

SERIES HISTORY: Dating back to the 2007 season, Marywood holds a 9-5-3 record over the Griffins. The Pacers have not lost to the Griffins since a 1-0 setback in 2019. Since then, the Pacers are 2-0-1 against Gwynedd Mercy. This is just the second postseason matchup between the two teams. Fifth-seeded Gwynedd Mercy defeated No. 4 Marywood 2-1 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference first round in 2009.

LAST MEETING: Marywood and Gwynedd Mercy played to a 2-2 tie on Oct. 18. Marywood went ahead early with a 13th minute goal when Danny Gomez headed a long Jayce Wilson pass from midfield. Hugh Lynch evened the score in the 51st minute off of a Mike Fienman assist. Nolan Kozera drilled a shot in the 66th minute to reclaim the lead. Cole Costello sent the game into a draw with a goal in the 89th minute. The game was marred by 38 total fouls, nine yellow cards, and a red card.

EYES ON FIRST AEC PLAYOFF WIN: Both the Griffins and Pacers are seeking the first Atlantic East Conference playoff victory. Marywood is 0-3 in three postseason appearance: a 2-1 double overtime loss to Wesley in 2018, a 4-2 loss to Neumann in 2021, and a 4-2 loss to Cabrini in 2022. Gwynedd Mercy lost to Marymount 2-1 in 2019. The Griffins are seeking their first postseason win since 2011. Marywood is after its first playoff victory since beating Neumann 2-1 in double overtime on Nov. 5, 2015.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS: As the team's playmaker, Braedon Kehan currently has a team-high 12 points with three goals and a conference-best six assists. He is closely followed in the regular-season stats by a trio nine-point players in Mike Fienman, Mert Yildirim and Kasey Wallace — each with a four goals and an assist. John Wagner has his best season in goal – 66 saves, .825 save percentage, and 1.22 goals-against average. Victor Cruz leads a defensive corps that features four starting freshmen.

Gwynedd Mercy got off to a slow start to the season, opening with a loss to first-year program Notre Dame (Md.). The Griffins did not get their first win until Sept. 18 with a 4-1 win over Clarks Summit. Gwynedd Mercy dropped its first two Atlantic East matchups, before beating the Mighty Macs 1-0 on Oct. 14.

SCOUTING THE PACERS: Danny Gomez is having a breakout year with a team-high five goals and three assists for 13 points. Gomez ranks sixth and eighth in goals and points, respectively, in the Atlantic East. Nolan Kozera had three goals and three assists for nine points. Both Kyle Falcon and Matt Laudenslager have eight points on the season. Alex Russo has made 47 saves with a .671 save percentage and a 1.53 goals-against average. Russo has a 6-7-2 record on the season. He ranks fourth in the Atlantic East in save percentage and GAA. Russo has a conference-best four clean sheets. Marywood's defense is led by Jayce Wilson, Alex Visha and Hayden Slater.

Marywood opened the season with back-to-back clean sheets, shutting out Hartwick and Keystone. After dropping six of seven games, the Pacers broke out of their slump with a 3-1 win over Cabrini — the Pacers first since 2017. Marywood is 2-0-2 in its past four contests.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Kyle Falcon: F; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#10 Danny Gomez: F; 5' 10"; Junior

#0 Alex Russo: GK; 5' 10"; Senior

#3 Alex Visha: D; 5' 9"; Freshman

#5 Jayce Wilson: D; 6' 0"; Freshman

#11 Nolan Kozera: F; 5' 7"; Freshman

#17 Jack Forbes: F; 5' 7"; Freshman

#18 Matt Laudenslager: M; 6' 0"; Freshman

#27 Hayden Slater: D; 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#7 Kyle Falcon
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: F

#10 Danny Gomez
: 5' 10"; Junior
: F

#0 Alex Russo
: 5' 10"; Senior
: GK

#3 Alex Visha
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: D

#5 Jayce Wilson
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: D

#11 Nolan Kozera
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: F

#17 Jack Forbes
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: F

#18 Matt Laudenslager
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: M

#27 Hayden Slater
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: D