Cougars set for NCAA Tournament
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NCAA Tournament
SIUE (10-4-5, 4-1-3 MVC)
at Michigan State (13-5-1, 4-3-1 Big Ten)
Thu., Nov. 17, 12 p.m. CT
DeMartin Soccer Complex
East Lansing, Mich.
Live Stats: SIUECougars.com
Video: msuspartans.com
ROAD TO THE NCAA: SIUE won its second Missouri Valley Conference tournament title with a 1-0 victory over Missouri State. Devyn Jambga scored the game winner in the 37th minute on SIUE's lone shot of the game.
GAME WINNER: The goal by Jambga was his fourth game-winner of the season, which is ranked 22nd nationally.
TOURNEY TIME: SIUE is making its second appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament in the last three season, having earned a spot in the NCAA Second Round in 2014. This is SIUE's 12th appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament and the 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance overall. The Cougars won the Division I national title in 1979.
MVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SIUE senior Austin Ledbetter was named the MVC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, while eight other SIUE players were honored as part of the All-MVC teams. Jambga (first team), Kyle Dal Santo (second team), Andrew Kendall-Moullin (second team), Mohamed Awad (second team), Ivan Gutierrez (honorable mention), Greg Solawa (honorable mention), Keegan McHugh (honorable mention) and Lachlan McLean (All-Freshman team) each received their awards during the MVC tournament banquet.
CONFERENCE CALL: SIUE completed its seventh MVC season. Since joining the league in 2010, the Cougars have an all-time record of 25-13-7 in Valley play. SIUE now has one regular season (2015) and two tournament (2014, 2016) titles. This is the fifth year overall, and third consecutive that the Cougars have won at least four MVC games.
SERIES STUFF: SIUE is 3-1 in the series with the Spartans. The Cougars defeated Michigan State 4-1 in 1972, later winning a College Division national championship. In 1973, SIUE was a 2-0 winner. In 1987, SIUE clipped Michigan State 4-2. Michigan State won the last meeting 4-0 in 1995.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: Michigan State advanced to the Big Ten Conference semifinals, falling to Maryland 2-1. The Spartans' Ryan Sierakowski was named first team All-Big Ten. Giuseppe Barone was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Cougars are ranked No. 4 nationally in save percentage (.846) and 17th nationally in team goals against average (0.69).
BACK LINE OF DEFENSE: Dal Santo picked up his 19th career shutout in the win over Missouri State. He is tied for No. 5 on SIUE's career list for shutouts with SIUE Athletics Hall of Famer Rick Benben. Dal Santo leads the MVC with a .839 save percentage this year which is No. 13 nationally. He made a career-best nine saves in the tie at Evansville.
THE POLLS WERE CORRECT: The Valley's head coaches picked the Cougars to repeat as MVC champs. SIUE received four first-place votes and 45 points overall.
HERMANN TROPHY: Ledbetter is on the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy watch list. The award is the highest individual honor in collegiate soccer.
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