NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. – Penn State New Kensington Men's Soccer has earned a bid the USCAA Division II Men's Soccer National Championship, the first in program history. The Lions earned the sixth seed after completing the PSUAC tournament with a record of 12-5. The team's twelve wins is the best win total in program history.
In pool play, the Lions will face No. 2 Seed Berkeley College-NJ on Friday, Nov. 12 and No. 3 Seed Penn State Brandywine on Sunday, Nov. 14. New Kensington was defeated 3-1 by Berkeley on Friday, Sept. 3—the first game of the season for either team. Freshman Justin Guerrini (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) scored the first of his record-breaking 21 season goals during the match. New Ken faced Brandywine in their last regular season game, falling 11-0.
The Lions are led by PSUAC Defensive Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Conference honoree, Brady Braun (Harrison City, Pa./Penn Trafford). The senior stepped into a new defensive role for the team this year, but still was a threat offensively, scoring nine goals and assisting on another seven.
A trio of freshman scored double digit goals this season. Besides Guerrini, Jordan Cooper (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) and Austin Arnold (Washington, Pa./Houston-Chartiers) scored 15 and 14 goals, respectively. Cooper also added nine assists for a total of 39-points. All three were placed on the PSUAC All-Conference 2nd Team.
Joining the group on the 2nd Team was fellow freshman William Root (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester). Root was a force for the New Kensington defense at center back, while still managing to rank fifth on the team in goals with eight.
The top team from Pool B will face the top team from Pool A in the National Championship on Monday, Nov. 15.
FAN INFORMATION
Live Streaming
Fans that are unable to make it to Virginia Beach can livestream the event at https://www.uscaasportsnetwork.com/.
Admission
Tickets to all Fall Championship Week events can be purchased online through the USCAA's Official Online Ticketing Provider, TicketLeap, at http://uscaa.ticketleap.com as well as at the gate. DAY PASSES: Admission for Men's and Women's Soccer will be $15 per day for spectators. Single day passes will be available online for pre-sale as well as at the gate each day.
TOURNAMENT PASSES: Week-long tournament passes will be available for $45. Soccer tournament passes allow access for all 28 soccer games throughout the week (both divisions of men and women). Tournament passes will only be available through pre-sale and through day one of the tournament onsite.
ALL-ACCESS PASS: For $55 you can have access into all eight National Championships (Cross Country, Volleyball, Soccer). The all-access pass grants access to both Cross Country Championships (men & women), all 20 games of the Volleyball Championships (divisions 1 & 2) as well as all 28 soccer games (men & women, divisions 1 & 2). A limited number of All-Access Passes are only available for pre-sale and will not be available onsite.
