TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Not only did Saturday's convincing 6-0 victory over Manchester University propel the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology men's soccer team into the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament, it gave the Engineers the No. 2 seed and the right to host Tuesday's semifinals.
The Engineers (9-5-4, 6-1-2 HCAC) received a little help from Defiance, which upset Hanover 1-0 Saturday to put Rose-Hulman in second place in the regular-season standings. Rose-Hulman will now host Hanover in Tuesday's 7 p.m. HCAC semifinal contest at the Intramural Field.
The winner will advance to Saturday's championship game, which will feature the winner of the Transylvania/Earlham matchup, with the highest remaining seed the host.
Senior Will Senat (Edmond, Okla./North) made the most of his final regular-season game in a Rose-Hulman uniform, as he netted his first-career hat trick with three straight goals, two unassisted. The third score came via one of Ben Green's (Frisco, Texas/Centennial) three assists, which ties as the top single-match assists mark in program history. Green is also now tied for third in single-season assists with eight in 2013.
Sophomore Brent Kamer (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) opened the match's scoring with his first career goal, finishing a Green cross with a header to the right corner of the net in the 19th minute. Senior Drew Belk (Jasper, Ind./Jasper) scored his 12th goal of year in the 66th minute and classmate Max Brown (Atlanta, Ga./Chamblee Charter) fired the match's final score in the 84th minute.
Freshmen Alex Jansen (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) and Tyler Blankenship (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley) tallied the combined assist for Brown's goal.
Rose-Hulman led 3-0 at the half, as the Engineers outshot Manchester (3-13-2, 2-7-1 HCAC) by a 24-2 margin and held an 11-0 advantage on corner kicks.
Keepers Drew Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Bishop Fenwick) and Alec Houpt (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) picked up the combined shutout, the Engineers' eighth of the season.
Live stats will be available for Tuesday's contest at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/rhit.portal
HCAC TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS
Semifinals - Tue., Nov. 5
Game 1: #3 Hanover at #2 Rose-Hulman, 7 p.m.
Game 2: #4 Transylvania at #1 Earlham, 2 p.m.
Championship - Sat., Nov. 9
(at best remaining seed)
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 1 p.m.
