Oct. 18, 2006

Final Stats

East Stroudsburg, Pa. - Hosting East Stroudsburg scored a goal with less than three minutes left in the second overtime period Wednesday afternoon to hand The Rock a 1-0 loss in a battle of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff-bound squads.

The hosts outshot SRU by a 21-7 margin, but Rock goalie Brandon McQuillen stood tall and turned aside nine shots on goal before ESU finally found the back of the net.

The loss snapped a five-game win streak for SRU (11-7 overall, 10-5 PSAC) and assured The Rock of a fourth-place finish in this year's PSAC race. That will most likely mean the Green and White will return to East Stroudsburg for a playoff semifinal game next Wednesday.

ESU (14-1-3 overall, 12-1-2 PSAC) currently leads the PSAC standings with 38 points, followed by Lock Haven with 36, West Chester 34 and The Rock 30.

Each conference win earns a team three points, while a PSAC-game tie is worth one point.

The Rock concludes the regular season with a road game Saturday at Bloomsburg (2-13-1, 2-11-1 PSAC).

Lock Haven (14-4-1, 12-3 PSAC) is at California (6-9-3, 5-6-3 PSAC), East Stroudsburg hosts Kutztown (2-16-1, 2-12-1 PSAC) and West Chester (13-4-1, 11-3-1 PSAC) entertains Shippensburg (6-11, 5-9 PSAC) in other regular-season finales on Saturday.

The PSAC regular-season champion will host the No.4 team, while the No. 2 team entertains the No. 3 team in semifinal action next Wednesday.

The highest seeded winning team in semifinal action will host the conference championship game on Oct. 29.

The Rock is the defending PSAC champion and will be making its second successive trip to the conference playoffs after a 25-year drought. Last year's conference title was the first won by a Rock men's soccer team in 31 seasons.

In order for The Rock to earn a second successive berth -- and the second ever won by an SRU men's team -- in the NCAA regional tournament, the Green and White will probably have to again win the conference championship this fall.