ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's soccer team will attempt to win the program's first conference championship this week as the Dutchmen compete in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championship as the second seed. The Dutchmen will host third-seeded FDU-Florham on Wednesday afternoon in the Semifinals.
 
The Dutchmen qualified for the postseason for the third consecutive year and will host a MAC Freedom Semifinal game for the second time in program history. The squad enters the postseason with a 9-3-6 overall record and a 3-1-3 mark in conference matches. They will take on the third-seeded Devils at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Herbert Field in the semifinals. The teams played to a 2-2 tie in Annville back on Oct. 18 as Dom Beddia scored the equalizer in the 86th minute. Top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology will host fourth-seeded Misericordia University in Hoboken at 7 p.m. in the other semifinal pairing. The winners will meet on Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed for the conference title.
 
There is an admission cost for all conference tournament games. Prices are set by the conference office and are $10 for adults, and $5 for seniors (65+) and youth (7-17). MAC students with an ID and children six and under with an adult are free.
 
LVC enters the conference tournament with one of the top offenses in the conference, scoring 36 goals in 18 games. The Dutchmen have taken a conference-most 92 corner kicks and are taking 15.3 shots per game. LVC had 15 different student-athletes record a point this year, and 10 different goal scorers.
 
Nathan Prex leads the conference and has been one of the top scorers in the nation this year with 18 goals in 18 games. The senior also has six assists for 42 points. Gavin Rapp has given the Dutchmen a spark off the bench and is second on the team with nine points on four goals and one assist in his rookie year. Will Burton, and Ethan Groff have seven points on two goals and three assists apiece.
 
JJ Porter, Charlie Kramer and Ollie Lynch have five points on two goals and one assist each, while Ben Ammon has scored two goals. Beddia has one goal and one assist for three points. Ben Kolarek has scored one goal, while Harrison Davis, Simon Grimes, and Nathan Kimball all have two assists. Andrew Myers and Nathan Newsom each recorded an assist as well for the Dutchmen.
 
The defense has been anchored by center back Logan Hicks. Jack Bowman, Tyler Wescott, and Eli Colantoni have come off the bench to provide the back line with support. Ryan Simonette has been strong in goal with an 8-2-5 record. The sophomore has a 1.63 goals against average and 0.619 save percentage with three shutouts. The Dutchmen have also received contributions from Aidan Smith, Eli Yerger, Brayden Burkhardt, Jonathan Cordon-Pinto, Rhys Good, Graham Putnam, Aaron Wilczek, and Collin Stump.
 
Stevens has won the past four conference titles, defeating four different teams in the title game, two of which needed penalty kicks to decide the Champion. The Ducks ended LVC's season each of the past two years, defeating the Dutchmen 3-1 in the semifinals last year, and 1-0 in the final two years ago. The Dutchmen defeated Stevens 1-0 on Oct. 25 in Hoboken as Burton scored the game-winner on a free kick in the 88th minute. Misericordia defeated the Dutchmen 3-2 in Dallas last Friday, Oct. 31. Stevens and Misericordia tied 1-1 in their regular-season meeting on Oct. 11 in Dallas.

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