ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's soccer team (6-12-0, Empire 8 5-2) earned its first Empire 8 Conference Championship berth since 2014, settling in as the #2 seed in the tournament. The Saxons will face the #3-seeded Golden Flyers of Nazareth College on Saturday.
 
AU will face Nazareth on Saturday, November 3 at 12PM in Hoboken, NJ in the first round of the Empire 8 Conference Championships. The #1-seeded Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology will host the Empire 8 Championships, facing #4 St. John Fisher College at 3PM in the opening round. The championship match will be played on Sunday, November 4 at 1PM in Hoboken, NJ.

Site: Stevens Institute of Technology | DeBaun Athletic Complex

2018 Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship Schedule
Saturday, November 3 - Semifinals
12pm - No. 3 Nazareth vs. No. 2 Alfred                      Live Stream | Live Stats
3pm - No. 4 St. John Fisher at No. 1 Stevens

Sunday, November 4 - Championship Final
1pm – Final                                                                 Live Stream | Live Stats
 

Category	Ranking in the E8	Statistic
Goals For	3rd	11 goals scored
Goals Against	3rd	6 goals allowed
Scoring Average	3rd	1.4 goals per game
Opponent Scoring Average	3rd	0.75 goals per game
Scoring Margin	2nd	+0.63 goals per game
Penalty Kick Goals	1st	2 PK goals
Shots	2nd	117 shots
Shots on Goal	3rd	42 shots on goal
Saves	2nd	40 saves
Save Percentage	1st	0.870 save percentage

 

Name	Category	Ranking	Statistic
Cody Cronmiller	Assists	2nd	3 assists
Cody Cronmiller	Points	4th	7 points
Cody Cronmiller	Shots	1st	25 shots
Alexander Tostanoski	Shots	8th	17 shots
Alexander Tostanoski	Game-Winning Goals	1st	2 GW Goals
Joe Gonzalez	Goals Against Avg.	6th	6 GA
Joe Gonzalez	Saves	1st	40 saves
Joe Gonzalez	Save Percentage	1st	0.870 save percentage
Joe Gonzalez	Shutouts	3rd	3 shutouts
Joe Gonzalez	Saves Per Game	2nd	5.0 saves per game

 
Saxon Point Leaders

Seniors Cody Cronmiller (Livonia, NY/Livonia) and Alexander Tostanoski (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post) lead the Saxons in points with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Tostanoski leads the team with five goals while Cronmiller has earned his points on three goals and six assists. Cronmiller's season-assist mark ranks third amongst AU men's soccer players dating back to 2003. Only Richard Lander '17 has more assists in a season, tallying nine assists in 2015 and seven assists in 2013. Both Cronmiller and Tostanoski have two game-winning goals in 2018, ranking second in the Empire 8. 
            
Sophomore Zachary Gloskin (New City, NY/Clarkstown South) and junior Raquan Hinds (Rochester, NY/Wilson Magnet) trail the  senior duo with nine and six points respectively. Both have found the back of the net three times while Gloskin has dished out three  assists on the season. Gloskin tallied seven of his nine points in the final three games of the regular season, scoring three goals in just two games.
 
New Keeper – Who Dis?

Senior Joe Gonzalez (Marion, NY/Marion) is in his first year with the Saxons after playing at both LeMoyne College and Catawba College – both NCAA Division II Schools. Despite being limited at the start of the season due to a nagging injury, Gonzalez went on to lead the Empire 8 in saves (93), which also ranks second among all AU keepers dating back to 2003. 
           
Outside of conference play, he allowed 31 goals against, but when it came to conference games, he allowed only 6 goals against and a league-high 0.870 save percentage behind two shutouts.
 
Second Most Points in Empire 8 Fixture in School History

The 2018 Saxons finished with 15 points in Empire 8 play, going 5-2-0 in conference play. They fall behind only the 2001 men's soccer team who finished the Empire 8 slate with a record of 5-0-1, tallying 16 points in the fixture. In turn, the 2001 Saxons were named the Empire 8 co-champions with the Rochester Institute of Technology. 
 
Empire 8 Championship History

• Prior to 2018, AU has made four Empire 8 Conference Championship tournament appearances (2003, 2004, 2006 and 2014). The Saxons have reached the championship game once while falling in the semifinal match three times.
• The Saxons have won two Empire 8 Championships since entering the league in 1999. Both Empire 8 titles have been shared with opponents. The first came in 2001 when the Saxons tied the Tigers of Rochester Institute of Technology. This title came prior to the Empire 8 Tournament and was solely based on regular season finish. AU and RIT finished with identical records and tied 0-0 during their head-to-head matchup. RIT advanced to the NCAA Tournament based on goals scored in conference.
• The Saxons' lone Empire 8 Championship in the tournament era came in 2003, celebrating with co-champion, Nazareth. AU went 9-4-3 overall and 3-2-1 in Empire 8 play under Head Coach Ken Hassler. The Saxons tied their way through the tournament, advancing past Ithaca College 1-1 (4-3 in PK's) and Nazareth College 1-1 (4-1 in PK's) earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
• Overall, the Saxons are 0-1-4 in Empire 8 Championship tournament games, losing only to St. John Fisher College 4-3 in overtime during the 2004 season.

 
The Saxons Beyond the Empire 8 Championship Tournament

AU has made two NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships tournaments in program history. The first came in 1988 when the Saxons finished the season at 14-0-3. However, they ran into RIT during the First Round of the NCAA tournament, falling 3-0 for their first loss of the season. Following the season, Steve Allison was named the ICAC and NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year due to the team's performance. 
            
AU's second NCAA tournament appearance came in 2003 following an Empire 8 Championship title. The Saxons fell in the NCAA First Round to Rowan, 5-1, on the road.

The Saxons have made eight Eastern Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship tournament appearances dating back to 1984. AU won an outright championship during its first appearance in the tournament during the 1984 season. AU was led by Head Coach Steve Allison and finished the year 9-5-3 overall, defeating Binghamton (1-0), Clarkson (2-0) and Clark College (3-0) en route to the title. 
            
AU's second title came in 1990, under Allison again, when they finished the year 12-5-0 overall and 4-2-0 in ICAC play. The Saxons defeated the University of Albany 1-0 in overtime in the opening round of the ECAC tournament. They were slated to face SUNY Plattsburgh, but an early winter storm forced the tournament to be canceled, naming both AU and Plattsburgh as ECAC Champions.
 
Last Matchup Against Each Opponent
#1 – Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks – L, 2-1 - 9/22/2018
Box Score

The game was a defensive battle in the first half until the Ducks broke through with a goal at the 41-minute mark to go up 1-0, which is where it would stay heading into the half. The second half was more of the same until the 75-minute mark when Stevens Institute of technology added a necessary insurance goal to take a 2-0 lead. 

Later in the 75^thminute, Cronmiller put Alfred on the board, converting a penalty kick to cut the lead to just one. The Ducks defense would hold off the Saxons for the remainder of the contest to secure the 2-1 victory. Joe Gonzalez (Marion, NY/Marion) had a big day in goal for Alfred with seven saves. 
 
#3 – Nazareth College Golden Flyers – L, 1-0 - 10/13/2018
Box Score

The first half was lacking in offense, as both teams struggled to get any shots on goal. The game went into halftime as a scoreless tie. 
 
Both teams came out of the half more aggressive, launching some shots toward the net. Finally, at the 55:19 mark, Nazareth capitalized on a block shot that deflected to Jake Adams, who put the ball into the back of the net to give the Golden Flyers a 1-0 lead. The aggressive defense continued throughout the second half. 
 
Just when it looked as if Nazareth might escape with a stress-free road victory, the Saxons were fouled inside the box, giving them a penalty kick opportunity in the 85^thminute but it was not converted. The Golden Flyers would hold off the Saxons for the final minutes and come away with the 1-0 victory.  

#4 – St. John Fisher College Cardinals – W, 2-1 (OT) - 10/27/2018
Box Score

The Cardinals took an early lead when a long pass was tapped into the net at the 13:49 mark to put SJFC up 1-0.  The score would stay that way heading into halftime.
 
AU was able to break through early in the second half when a shot from Tavian Hino (Livonia, NY/Livonia) deflected off the hand of the Fisher goalkeeper and into the back of the net. AU would put pressure on the Cardinals with multiple scoring opportunities in the second half but regulation would end with the score remaining 1-1.
 
The first overtime was uneventful and came to a close with the teams still tied at one. The second overtime brought excitement for Saxon fans when Gloskin put a perfect pass in front of the St. John Fisher net where Michael Villafane (Las Vegas, Nevada/Arbor View) finished the job with a header for the game-winning goal.  

Series History Against All Opponents
#1 – Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks

• The Saxons have never defeated Ducks in 12 games dating back to 2006. The best result AU has mustered against Stevens are two ties. The first tie came in 2014 during the Empire 8 Conference semifinal match. The Saxons battled the Ducks in 110 minutes of scoreless play before heading to a shootout. Stevens advanced to the championships match, defeating AU 6-5 in PK's. The Ducks went on to win the Empire 8 Conference title before falling in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship to #17 Christopher Newport.
• The second tie came in 2017 when the Saxons hosted Stevens in Yunevich Stadium and took the game to a 1-1 draw. Despite playing a man down following a red card in the first half, the Saxons bounced back from a one-goal deficit to knot the game up in the 68^th minute. Evan Merkey (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) scored the goal, taking advantage of a deflection off the Stevens keeper. AU only managed one more shot on goal throughout the remainder of the game but held Stevens scoreless to maintain the tie. Down the stretch of the season, the Ducks went on to win the Empire 8 Championship, advancing to the NCAA Division III Men's Championship Third Round before losing the eventual National Champion, Messiah College.
• Biggest Victory: N/A
• Last Victory: N/A

#3 – Nazareth College Golden Flyers

• The Saxons are 12-16-2 against the Golden Flyers dating back to 1986. AU won four-straight games over Nazareth from 1986-1990 by a combined score of 8-3 to open the series. Since 2014, the Saxons have only lost to Nazareth once, maintaining a 2-2-1 record. The 2014 matchup was an offensive showdown with AU pulling out a 5-4 win at home. The next year, AU traveled to Pittsford, NY to dominate Nazareth 4-0 on the road. Since then, the Saxons have lost twice and tied against the Golden Flyers.
• Biggest Victory: W, 8-0 at home in 1992
• Last Victory: W, 4-0 at Nazareth in 2015

#4 – St. John Fisher Cardinals

• AU is 18-17-4 against St. John Fisher dating back to 1973. Since 2014, the Saxons hold a 3-1-1 record against the Cardinals, including a 2-1 overtime win in Alfred, NY earlier this year. AU's largest victory over SJFC came in 2015 when the Saxons dominated the Cardinals to a 4-0 victory. Current Cronmiller scored in the 84^th minute of that game, heading in a deflected ball from the SJFC defense.  
• Biggest Victory: W, 7-0 at home in 1987
• Last Victory: W, 2-1 (OT) at home in 2018