Orten vs. Seton Hill
Mike Gallagher

Men's Soccer Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon Meets Bloomsburg in PSAC Semifinals on Friday

No. 2W GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (13-4-2) at No. 1E BLOOMSBURG HUSKIES (13-4-1)
PSAC SEMIFINALS
DATE/TIME: Friday, November 4, 2022 | 2:30 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: Steph Petit Stadium l Bloomsburg, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

TICKETS
Tickets are required to attend the PSAC Tournament and must be purchased with cash only. The price is $10 for adults and seniors, and $5 for non-PSAC students, including K-12. Students with an ID from a PSAC school are free. Pre-K children are also free.

THE PSAC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday, November 1
Game 1 -- 2W GANNON 4, 3W Seton Hill 3
Game 2 -- 2E East Stroudsburg 2, 3E West Chester 2 ot (ESU advances 4-3 PK)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, November 4 (at Bloomsburg)
Game 3 -- 1E Bloomsburg (15-4-1) vs. 1W GANNON (13-4-2), 2:30 p.m.
Game 4 – 1W Mercyhurst (18-0-1) vs. 2E East Stroudsburg (8-8-3), 5:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, November 6 (at Bloomsburg)
Game 5 -- Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 1:00 p.m.
 
GANNON IN THE PSAC TOURNAMENT
2022
Quarterfinals – at Gannon 4, Seton Hill 3
2021
Quarterfinals – at Gannon 2, Seton Hill 1
Semifinals – Gannon 1, Lock Haven 0 (at Mercyhurst)
Finals – Millersville 2, Gannon 0 (at Mercyhurst)
2019
Semifinals – Gannon 2, West Chester 1 ot (at Millersville)
Finals – at Millersville 1, Gannon 0
2018
Quarterfinals – Seton Hill 1, at Gannon 1 ot (Seton Hill advances on penalty kicks)
2017
Semifinals – Gannon 2, Millersville 0 (at West Chester)
Finals – East Stroudsburg 1, Gannon 0 (at West Chester)
2016
Quarterfinals – Millersville 2, at Gannon 0
2012
Quarterfinals – Slippery Rock 2, at Gannon 1 2ot
 
 
THE GANNON-BLOOMSBURG SERIES
Gannon leads 16-3-1
Gannon owns a 4-0-1 record over the last five meetings. That includes a four-match winning streak, with Gannon outscoring the Huskies 12-1 during that stretch.

Last Meeting: Sept. 29, 2021 – Gannon 4, at Bloomsburg 0 | RECAP
Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) scored three goals to lead Gannon to the win at Bloomsburg. Katsande scored 54 seconds into the match and the Golden Knights added two goals in the five minutes of the half as they jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead. Sergio Del Castillo (Madrid, Spain) accounted for Gannon's other goal. Despite the final score Gannon held just a 12-9 advantage in shots.
 

ERIE, Pa. – Gannon reached the PSAC Final Four for the third straight year but it certainly wasn't easy. Thanks to a come-from-behind 4-3 win over Seton Hill the Golden Knights, seeded second in the PSAC West, will face Bloomsburg, the Eastern Division's top seed and host of the Final Four, in the PSAC Semifinals on Friday, November 4 at Steph Petit Stadium. The match gets underway at 2:30 p.m.

Head coach Bill Colton's team is making its sixth straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament and seventh overall, but is still in search of its first PSAC title. Things didn't look promising when the Golden Knights found themselves trailing 2-0 less than three minutes into the match. They rallied for a 3-3 tie at the half, and Bautista Corti (Manuel Alberti, Argentina/Adultos 2000) provided the winning goal in the 59th minute following a wild scramble in front of the net.

The victory boosted Gannon to 13-4-2 on the season and presented Colton with his 50th career win. Oddly enough, the fourth-year coach was unable to enjoy it from the bench due to illness, although he was in the vicinity.

Gannon now faces a Bloomsburg team which is 13-4-1, the 13 wins one shy of the school record. The Huskies had a first-round bye and come in with losses in two of their last three matches. That includes a 1-0 loss to Millersville last Saturday.

Mercyhurst and East Stroudsburg square off in the second semifinal at 5:30 p.m. The Lakers, the top seed in the Western Division, are the prohibitive favorite, coming in at 18-0-1 and ranked second in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25. They have won in dominant fashion this year, scoring 70 goals while allowing just three. Mercyhurst has not allowed a goal since September 7, a span of 14 matches. East Stroudsburg is the second seed in the PSAC East and advanced to the semifinals after battling West Chester to a 2-2 in overtime. The Warriors won in a shootout 4-3.

The winners of Friday's semifinals will meet on Sunday, November 6 in the 2022 PSAC Championship Game, with the winner receiving the PSAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Recapping the Quarterfinal Win
Things looked bleak for Gannon at a foggy McConnell Family Stadium when Seton Hill scored just 48 seconds into Tuesday's quarterfinal match, then took a 2-0 lead in the third minute. Gannon cut the lead in half on Pau Ferrer's (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) fourth goal of the season a minute later, and the score was tied in the 11th minute on Tinashe Katsande's (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) goal, his fifth of the season. Seton Hill regained the lead at 3-2, but the two teams entered halftime tied at 3-3 when Petter Dyrkorn (Sandvika, Norway/Doenski Videregaaende Skole) scored his third goal of the season with four minutes. Gannon scored the game-winning goal as Bautista Corti (Manuel Alberti, Argentina/Adultos 2000) found the back of the net following a scramble in front of the net at 58:45.     

Overtime Returns
Earlier this year the NCAA eliminated overtime play during the regular season. However, overtime is back for the postseason. Should teams play to a tie after regulation there will be two 10-minute overtime periods played to their entirety. If the teams remain tied penalty kicks will decide who moves on in the playoffs.

Ferrer Named PSAC West Freshman of the Year
On Thursday Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year, the fourth straight year a Gannon player has earned a major award. A defender from Valencia, Spain, the redshirt freshman has contributed four goals and five assists for 13 points on the offensive end, good for third on the team. In addition, Ferrer has helped the Golden Knights record six shutouts and allow just 22 goals. The unit has allowed just nine shots per game.
 
Six Golden Knights Earn All-PSAC West Accolades
In addition to Pau Ferrer's (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena) selection as PSAC West Freshman of the Year, a total of six Golden Knights earned All-PSAC West honors. Five Golden Knights earned first-team honors. Midfielder Sergio Del Castillo (Madrid, Spain) and defender Bautista Corti (Manuel Alberti, Argentina/Adultos 2000) repeated as first-team selections, joined by midfielders Herman Aanberg (Hamar, Norway/Wang Toppidrett Oslo) and Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs), and Ferrer.  Midfielder Toby Gower (Norwich, England/Long Stratton) earned a spot on the second team for the second straight year. The selections show Gannon's youth as Orten is a freshman, Ferrer a redshirt freshman, and Aanberg and Corti are sophomores for head coach Billy Colton. Del Castillo and Gower are seniors.
 
Colton Claims 50th Career Victory
Fourth-year head coach Billy Colton claimed his 50th career victory on Tuesday thanks to the 4-3 win over Seton Hill. The former standout at Mercyhurst took over the Gannon program in 2019 and guided the Golden Knights to their first NCAA playoff appearance since 2010, ending the year with an 18-3-0 record. The 2020 campaign was interrupted by COVID-19 but Gannon was 3-3-0 playing in the spring of 2021. Last fall the Golden Knights were 16-3-3, again playing in the PSAC Championship game and making the NCAA Tournament. Adding in this year's 13-4-2 ledger, Gannon is 50-13-5 during Colton's tenure.
 
Del Castillo Continues to Lead Division II in Scoring
Senior midfielder Sergio Del Castillo (Madrid, Spain) remains the Division II leader in both goals (22) and points scored (48). Del Castillo vaulted into the lead with 15 goals in a span of six matches, with three hat tricks during that period. It began with three goals in a 6-2 win over Wheeling, followed by five goals in a 12-1 victory at D'Youville. To prove that was no fluke he scored five goals in a 7-1 victory over California (Pa.). He scored a pair of goals last Saturday in a 5-0 win over Pitt-Johnstown. The 22 goals leave him in a tie for third in the season scoring charts, while his 48 points are tied for seventh. He is sixth in career goals (51) and career points (118).
 
Golden Knights to Watch
Senior midfielder Sergio Del Castillo (Madrid, Spain) is the team's leading scorer with 22 goals and four assists for 48 points. He earned plenty of postseason accolades a year ago, culminated by a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-American Third Team. An outstanding student, he also earned CoSIDA and United Soccer Coaches Academic All-American honors. he has twice been named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week this year and was named the United Soccer Coaches Division II Men's Soccer Player of the Week once.
 
Benjamin Querling (Zuelpich, Germany/Emil-Fischer Gymnasium), a junior forward, is second on the team in goals with six, adding an assist for 13 points. Freshman midfielder Sverre Orten (Orsta, Norway/Aalesund vgs) has five goals and a team-leading seven assists to rank second on the team with 17 points. Pau Ferrer (Valencia, Spain/ISES Isabel de Villena), another freshman, has four goals and five assists for 13 points. Senior forward Tinashe Katsande (Norwich, England/Dereham Sixth Form College) has five goals and midfielder/forward Joe Knox (Gold Coast, Australia/The Southport School) four. Freshman Samuel Alarcon (Madrid, Spain/Colegio el Valle II) has taken over in goal over the last ten matches and owns a 1.20 GAA with four shutouts.
 
Scouting Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg comes in as the number one seed in the Eastern Division, earning the right to host the PSAC Final Four. The Huskies own a 13-4-1 record and finished at 8-3-1 in the PSAC East. They received votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25. The 13 wins are the second-highest win total in school history, with the Huskies needing one win to tie the record of 14 wins set in 2015. Twelve of Bloomsburg's contests have been decided by a goal or less. The outstanding season earned second-year head coach Mark Bassett PSAC East Coach of the Year honors. Six Huskies earned All-PSAC East accolades, with two on the first team and four more on the second squad. Forward Liam Harman, a graduate student, and freshman midfielder Shay Gillen were first team selections. Harman has three goals and three assists while Gillen has contributed four goals and five assists. Three members of the Bloomsburg defense landed on the second team – Kody Besser, Stephen Hollis and Patrick Walsh. Hollis, a senior, was a second-team selection in 2019. The final all-conference member is also a two-time honoree. Sammy Ames, who has six goals and two assists, was on the second team a year ago. He is a junior forward. While showcasing a balanced attack with 12 different players scoring goals, but none more than six. Bloomsburg is third in the PSAC in scoring offense with 41 goals, ranking behind Mercyhurst and Gannon. Sophomore Brady Rimple has registered five shutouts and owns a 1.13 GAA in goal.
 
Next for the Golden Knights
The winner of Friday's PSAC semifinal match will advance to play the winner of the Mercyhurst-East Stroudsburg match in the PSAC Championship Game on Sunday, November 6. That contest will be played at 1:00 p.m. at Bloomsburg.
 
 
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