SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team and head coach Matt Thompson would like to extend a sincere thank you to the community, fans and alumni for increased support during the postseason.

Over 1,200 fans showed up at Thompson Stadium for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship game to watch The Rock defeat the number one team in the country, Millersville.

The next weekend, over 1,000 fans were on hand to see a thrilling overtime win over Mercyhurst in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Having that many fans at our games was really like having a 12th player,” said Thompson. “We are extremely grateful to have such great support from our alumni, parents, students and this community.

“We're particularly pleased with the number of student-athletes and coaches from other Slippery Rock teams that were there to support us. It speaks directly to the strength of the overall athletics program here. We really want to thank the other coaches and teams for supporting us.”

The Rock closed its best season in school history with an appearance in the round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament. SRU won its second PSAC Championship since 2005 and posted a school record 18 wins.

For the second consecutive year, Thompson was named PSAC-West Coach of the Year. Also for the second straight season, Jeremy Deighton was named the division's Player of the Year. He followed that up by earning Regional Player of the Year honors as well.

Deighton was joined by Greg Blum, Benjamin Lloyd and Thomas Pool in earning All-PSAC honors. Those four were joined by Patrick Conley and Toby Bowser in earning All-Region accolades.

The Rock will return 21 players next season for what Thompson hopes will be another exciting season for Rock men's soccer.

“Hopefully the excitement from the end of this season carries over to next year. I think we gained some new fans during these last couple weeks, and that's an exciting feeling heading into the offseason.”