LIVE STATS
HCAC TOURNAMENT PROGRAM
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology hosts Franklin College in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament semifinal match on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Rose-Hulman earned the No. 2 seed for the HCAC Tournament and a share of its first conference regular season championship since 2012 after defeating Bluffton University 3-1 in the Senior Day match on Saturday afternoon. The Fightin' Engineers won the 2011 and 2013 HCAC Tournaments to earn automatic bids into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Rose-Hulman finished 7-1-1 in conference play, including a 1-0 victory over Franklin during the regular season schedule. The Grizzlies earned the No. 3 seed for the tournament after finishing 8-6-3 overall and 5-2-2 in conference play.
The Fightin' Engineers are also the No. 7 ranked team in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region rankings this week.
Rose-Hulman has relied on a balanced offensive attack to outscore the opposition 23-11 this season. Sophomore Ben Lyon has a team-high seven goals and 14 points, while junior Dieter Schultz has added two goals, six assists and 10 points. Freshman Austin Webb has scored eight points on three goals and two assists.
Other multiple-goal scorers this season include junior Marco Cattani, senior Andrew Bartush, sophomore Nick Kowalkowski and freshman Turner Perkins with two goals each.
Defensively, senior Drew Miller ranks No. 15 nationally in shutouts (11), No. 21 in goals against average (0.56) and No. 23 in save percentage (.849) entering this week's action. Miller has recorded career school records of 47 wins and 33 shutouts in compiling a career mark of 47-16-11 with a 0.62 goals against average as a Fightin' Engineer.
Other consistent starters this season have included sophomore Alex Jansen, junior Mike Smyser, junior Brent Kamer, sophomore Brad Rostron and sophomore Tyler Blankenship.
The Franklin offense features junior Austin Fundenberger with nine goals, and sophomore Antonio Gioe with four goals to lead the scoring attack. Junior goalkeeper Cody Chapman has an 8-6-3 mark in net.
Admission to the match, set by the HCAC, is $8 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and students, and free for children under the age of 11 years old. All students, faculty, and staff members from both conference schools will receive free admission by showing their college ID.
The winner of Wednesday's match will face the winner of the other semifinal between No. 1 Transylvania and No. 4 Anderson. The best remaining seed following Wednesday's play will host the championship match on Saturday.
