Six Teams Set
to Battle for ASC MS Title this Weekend
The 2006 ASC Men's
Soccer Championships will begin tomorrow in
Kerrville and although Schreiner is the host
school and tournament's #1 seed, any of the six
teams who advanced to the tournament have a
strong chance to walk away with the title on
Sunday.
Schreiner earned the top seed by winning a
school-record 10 ASC matches during the regular
season. As always with Paul Hayes' teams,
the Mountaineers are built around defense.
SU sophomore goalkeeper Nick Morrison already
owns the school's career shutout record with 11
in just less than two seasons and anchors one of
the conferences toughest defenses. The
Mountaineers have given up 16 goals in 17
matches, which is one behind ASC leader,
UT-Dallas. Junior Tino Albarran is SU's
top offensive threat. He ranks 7th in the
ASC in goals scored with 10 while senior
teammate David Ramos is tied for the ASC lead in
assists - also with 10.
#2 seed University
of the Ozarks will be making a league-record 7th
straight trip to the ASC playoffs under head
coach Dave De Hart. During that run, the
Eagles have advanced to the finals four times
and won the 2003 title. Senior Jared
Gordon is tied for the ASC lead in goals with 16
and senior Ryan Skelly is fourth in the ASC in
assists with 8. Ozarks' defense is no less
impressive and is ranked #2 in goals against
average in the ASC.
Hardin-Simmons
is the tournament's third seed and is also
defending champion. This is their 8th
appearance in the ASC tournament and the Cowboys
have earned five championships during that time.
HSU is one of the ASC's youngest teams with five
freshmen starters. Senior David Salas
might be the most explosive player in the
league. His 83 shots are tops in 2006 but
he's also fourth in the ASC in assists.
Mississippi
College - the #4 seed - has the ASC's top
offense. The Choctaws were #1 in the ASC
in goals, assists and shots. Sophomore
forward Phillip Buffington was the ASC's leading
goal scorer with 15 but freshman teammate Chris
Penton was only two behind. Senior Drew
Ziegler tied Schreiner's Ramos for the ASC
assists lead with 10. MC's blend of
returning players and talented transfers and
freshmen make them a team to watch this weekend.
The event's #5
seed - UT - Dallas - has played its best soccer
in big matches. UTD has defeated every
tournament qualifier during the regular season,
with the exception of HSU. Hardin-Simmons
defeated the Comets, 2-1, in overtime. UTD
also is built around defense - as it has allowed
only 16 goals in 18 matches.
Mary
Hardin-Baylor is the sixth seed and the Cru come
into the tournament off a turnaround regular
season under first year head coach Brad Bankhead.
The 2006 Cru earned 10 wins in a season for the
first time since 2000. To get into the
tournament, UMHB were 2-1-1 down the stretch and
came up with a key 2-2 tie in the final
regular-season match vs. HSU. |
