FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University men's soccer team secured their second consecutive Northeast Conference Tournament. The Pios secured the fourth seed with a draw on the road at Le Moyne and will host the fifth seed, Merrimack, at Park Ave Field on Sunday at noon. 
 
RECORDS
#4 Sacred Heart: 6-7-3, 3-2-3 (NEC)
#5 Merrimack: 5-7-3, 3-3-2 (NEC)
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers finished their regular season on Thursday with a draw at Le Moyne, 1-1. David Garcia Gallego scored the lone goal early in the game. Keeper Andrew Hammersley recorded four saves.
 
The Dolphins outshot the Pioneers 11-to-9 and 5-to-4 on goal. Sacred Heart had three corner kicks to Le Moyne's two.
 
THE MATCHUP
SHU opened its conference play against Merrimack winning, 4-1, on September 24^th at home. Four pioneers secured a goal including Garcia Gallego, Aidan Borra, Olliver Persson and Matthias Dick. Hammersley secured seven saves.
 
Sacred Heart tallied 11 shots, eight shots on goal and earned three corner opportunities compared to Merrimack's 15 shots, eight shots on goal and nine corners.
 
This season's win over the Warriors was the first for the Pioneers in program history.
 
SCOUTING MERRIMACK
Merrimack defeated CCSU Thursday evening, 3-1, leapfrogging Le Moyne to earn the fifth seed in the NEC Tournament.
 
Merrimack has totaled 25 goals this season. Sophomore Laurie Goddard leads the Warriors with nine goals and three assists. Senior Juri Schlingmann leads the team with 15 points on three goals and nine assists. Sophomore Liam Ziegler (5g, 2a) and graduate Johan Feilscher (4g-3a) have also played well this season. Four other Warriors have scored goals this year.
 
Three keepers have seen playing time for the Warriors. Junior Alvaro Rodriguez played in 11 games totaling 43 saves, 1.64 goals against average and 0.705 save percentage.
 
SCOUTING PIONEERS
The Pios' success is due to a collective contribution of the team. Persson leads the team in goals with five. Garcia Gallego has four goals and three assists. He has seen the most offensive opportunities with 18 shots on goal. Dick has two goals and three assists. Five other Pioneers have scored a goal this season.
 
Hammersley has made his mark this season with a total of 54 saves, which sits him third in the conference. Seven of those saves were made against Merrimack, his highest of the season. He has totaled five shutouts which puts him on the SHU leader board and is tied at 8^th in SHU history and ties him second in the conference. Hammersley is also second in the conference for his 1.25 goals against average. He is third in save percentage at 0.730.