FAIRFIELD, Conn.— The Sacred Heart University men's soccer team returns to the Northeast Conference Tournament for the first time since 2016. The Pioneers earned the fourth seed and will host fifth-seeded Saint Francis at Park Avenue Field on Sunday at 6 p.m.
 
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RECORDS
#4 Sacred Heart: 6-8-1, 4-3-1 NEC
#5 Saint Francis: 6-5-4, 3-2-3 NEC
 
THE MATCHUP

• SHU edged Saint Francis 1-0 in the regular season. Lucas Miquel Castrillo scored the lone goal.·
• The Pioneers edged the Red Flash in shots on target, 5-4.
• Saint Francis leads Sacred Heart in the all-time series, 19-3-2, with the Pioneers winning the last two meetings.
• Both teams are making their first NEC tournament appearance in a while. Sacred Heart is competing in the postseason for the first time since 2016. Saint Francis is making its first appearance since 2019.

PIOS IN POSTSEASON

• The Pioneers return to the NEC tournament for the first time since 2016.
• Since joining the NEC in 1999, SHU has made the conference postseason 14 times.
• Sacred Heart's highest regular-season finish was when it was tied at #1 in 2011. The Pioneers shared the regular season title with Central Connecticut State and Monmouth that year.

SIEGEL IN THE NET

• Senior Justin Siegel has eclipsed 51 saves and six shutouts this season. His six shutouts are currently tied for sixth in Pioneer history in a single season.
• Siegel is also tied for fourth in the program in career shutouts (8) and ranks 13th in career saves (122).
• The goalkeeper reached the 100th career save mark at LIU (Sept. 30). Siegel got his first five saves while playing his rookie season at Mulhenberg College in 2019. On Oct. 13, he became the 15th player in Pioneer history to get 100th saves in the 0-0 draw against St. Francis Brooklyn.

TOP PIOS

• Graduate student Lucas Miquel Castrillo leads Sacred Heart with seven points on the season. The midfielder notched the game-winner in the Pioneers' victories at Hartford and Saint Francis. Castrillo also leads SHU with three assists.
• Junior Olliver Persson was named NEC co-Player of the Week on Oct. 24 after posting a goal and assist against Howard. 
• David Garcia Gallego, Rob Taylor IV and Javier Lopez Cayuela are tied for third on the team with three points. Gallego and Taylor tallied two goals apiece this season. Cayuela notched the Pioneers' first goal of the season while picking up two career assists.
• First years Koke Gracia Martinez (Sept. 12) and Zach Lorenz (Oct. 24) earned Rookie of the Week honors this year after scoring their first career goals.

ANTHONY ANZEVUI

• Anzevui is in his first season as interim head coach for the Pioneers. He was promoted to the position in January 2022 after longtime head coach Joe Barroso retired.
• Anzevui was hired as an assistant on the men's soccer staff in 2014.
• The Newcastle, England native is no stranger to the program as he played for the Pioneers from 2005 to 2009. As a player, Anzevui helped guide SHU to its first-ever postseason appearance in 2005 followed by another in 2007.
• Anzevui's first postseason trip as an assistant coach came in 2016, where they fell at St. Francis Brooklyn, 1-0.

TEAM NOTABLES

• The Pioneers have won four of its last six games to end the regular season. The second game was a draw against St. Francis Brooklyn, 0-0. SHU's last loss was at Merrimack, 3-0. 
• As a team, the Pioneers are second in the conference averaging 4.80 corner kicks per game. They also rank third in shots per game (12.93) and fifth in overall shots (194) and shots on goal per game (5.13).
• Sacred Heart earned its first non-conference victory since 2019 with a 2-0 edge against Holy Cross. The following game, the Pioneers picked up a 2-0 road win at Hartford.