Men’s Soccer Makes Fifth-Straight USCAA Championship Appearance
After capturing its fifth consecutive Penn State University Athletic Conference championship, the Penn State Brandywine men's soccer team will once again return to Virginia Beach, Va., the site of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Championship, which begins Friday.
Brandywine earned the automatic bid to the USCAA Tournament as champion of the PSUAC. The Lions captured the conference title following a 1-0, overtime victory over Penn State Lehigh Valley on November 3. Alexis Cordova Bernal scored the game winner, while Elijah DeBooth and the Brandywine defense pitched their USCAA-leading 13th shutout of the season.
Brandywine earned its fifth-straight PSUAC title and seventh in the last eight years.
Seeded third in the USCAA Tournament, Brandywine will play its first two matches in Pool B against Berkeley College and Penn State New Kensington. The Lions open the tournament against No. 2 Berkeley Saturday at 4:45 PM and face No. 6 New Kensington Sunday at 2:15 PM.
Brandywine is 12-1 all-time against New Kensington, including a 11-0 road victory earlier this fall, and has won 10-straight matches in the series. The Lions' lone victory in four matches against Berkeley came during the regular-season finale in 2018, the same year Brandywine claimed its USCAA National Championship.
All five members of Brandywine's current senior class were freshmen on the national-championship winning team, Brandywine's first in any sport.
Senior Joey Cairy earned his third First Team All-PSUAC selection this fall after finishing second on the team with 11 goals and 30 total points. Alex Sydor leads the offense, which scored a USCAA-best 107 goals, with 25 goals, 10 assists and 60 total points. He is the national leader in all three categories.
Brandywine also features the top-ranked defense in the USCAA. In addition to leading the nation in shutouts, Brandywine topped all teams with a 0.83 goals against average after yielding 19 goals in 22 matches. The Lions have allowed just three goals in 10 matches since October 1, going 9-0-1 in that span.
The six-team USCAA National Championship field also features Pool A, consisting of No. 1 Five Towns College, No. 4 Central Maine and No. 5 Penn State Beaver.
The winners of Pool A and Pool B meet Monday in the national championship at 4:30 PM at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.
