ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's men's soccer team, seeded seventh, will take on Davenport, seeded 10th, in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament this Thursday (Nov. 18) at 2 p.m. (CST) at Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio. The winner will take on second seeded and host Lake Erie College on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. (CST).
Tickets are available online on Lake Erie's website by clicking the ticket link or they can be purchased at the gate on Thursday. Tickets purchased at the gate will be cash only. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students, senior citizens and children, ages 2-12. Children under the age of two will be admitted free. All-session passes are also on sale for $20.
Lewis is making its ninth trip to the NCAA DII Tournament in program history and recorded its best finishes in the tournament in 2000 and 2009 advancing to the Final Four in both years. The Flyers are making their first trip back to the Tournament since 2013.
Tickets are available online on Lake Erie's website by clicking the ticket link or they can be purchased at the gate on Thursday. Tickets purchased at the gate will be cash only. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students, senior citizens and children, ages 2-12. Children under the age of two will be admitted free. All-session passes are also on sale for $20.
Lewis had a strong finish to the season to get into the tournament going 7-1-1 in its last nine games with the only blemish being the 1-0 double overtime loss to Drury in the quarterfinal round of the GLVC Tournament. The Flyers body of work over the course of the season was still good enough though to receive an at-large bid as they went 1-1-2 against teams ranked in the final regional rankings.
Lewis is led by First Team All-GLVC selections
Domenic Baumann (Bergheim, Germany/Brauweiler) and
Jimmy Mwanga (Dublin, Ireland/CBS Lucan) along with Second Team All-GLVC pick
Aris Oluwatuyi (Lagos, Nigeria/The International Sports Academy) as the trio combined to score 51 points this season. Baumann leads the team with seven goals and four assists for a total of 18 points while Mwanga added five goals and seven assists and Oluwatyi chipped in with six goals and four assists. Third Team All-GLVC honoree
Matthew Beaulieu (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) added eight points while Second Team All-GLVC selections
Justin Darlage (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) and
Nathaniel Campbell (Palm Bay, Fla./Heritage) each had seven points this season
Sebastian Doppelhofer (Liebmannweg, Austria/Kapfenburg), the GLVC Freshman of the Year and Third Team All-GLVC selection, has posted six shutouts this season while allowing 0.85 goals per game and has made 57 saves in his 16 starts. He was twice named GLVC Defensive Player of the Week this season earning the honor on Oct. 11 and Nov. 1. Doppelhoffer is the fifth player in program history to be named GLVC Freshman of the Year.
About Davenport – The Panthers received an at-large berth to the tournament and are making their first NCAA appearance since reclassifying from the NAIA in 2018. Davenport enters Thursday's contest with a record of 11-7-1 and were the runner-up in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament losing to No. 20 Parkside 3-2.
The Panthers scored 34 goals this season while yielding 28 and are outshooting its opponents by two shots per game. Matt Whelan leads the squad with 25 points tallying 10 goals and five assists while Justice Sikkema has 19 points (eight goals, three assists), Daire O'Riordan is contributing five goals and five assists for 15 points and Evan Marquess has 12 scored 12 points. Shane Marinkovich has started 16 games in goal and is allowing 1.14 goals per contest, has posted five shutouts and made 56 saves.
Series Stuff – Thursday's contest marks the second meeting all-time between the Flyers and Panthers with Lewis winning the first meeting 1-0 back on Sept. 9, 2018 at Davenport.
