When the whistle is blown in Morrisville, and the ball is tapped from one player to another, the next 90 minutes will be a grueling matchup in the cold air to settle the score between King’s and Morrisville State on Thursday night.
For the second straight season, the Monarchs have won the Freedom Conference Championship and are playing in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. This year their opponent is Morrisville State, the champions of the NEAC, who is making their second NCAA appearance in three years.
Coach Mark Bassett, who has brought great success to the King’s soccer program in his nine-year tenure, said that they are not doing anything significantly different in terms of preparation.
“We are preparing to play the way we have played all year,” said Bassett.
The Monarchs experienced-filled roster lifted them from the third seed in the conference playoffs to an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The momentum King’s has gained through the conference playoff is similar to last year’s team who captured a bid to the NCAAs from the third seed.
Morrisville State presents a tough task for King’s because they have not played at all this year and hold a 16-2 record. King’s will be doing a ton a film study to prep for their almost unknown important.
“One of our non-conference opponents plays similar to Morrisville State” said Bassett on the benefit being able to schedule non-conference opponents.
The Monarchs are led by their senior and junior classes. Co-captain Niall Croke has 11 goals in his outstanding senior campaign. Junior Chris Nygren has been terrific all season long with eight goals and 11 helpers.
The Monarchs also see major contributions from co-captain Brian Alifano, senior David Stroh, and junior Danny Hernandez, the hero and Most Valuable Player of the Freedom Conference Championship.
Bassett said that he had not spoken to his guys to motivate them but “there is a plan.”
Morrisville State brings a prolific offensive attack to this NCAA game having scored 62 goals in 18 games this season. The weight of the Mustang offense is carried on the shoulders of Joe Sheehan (15 goals) and Jamieson McKoy (11 goals). Julian Rodriguez has also scored nine times this season for Morrisville State.
“The team has been playing well lately and we hope to carry that over into our Thursday night matchup,” said Bassett.
The game kicks off at 6:00 pm in Morrisville, New York with the winner advancing to play Division 3 power Messiah.
Donny Hopkins covers King’s sports for WRKC Digital, follow him on Twitter @HopkinsDonny or email him at DonaldHopkins@Kings.edu