Men's Soccer | 11/4/2014 3:38:00 PM

CHARLESTON, West Virginia - The 2014 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Soccer National Championships returns to Charleston, West Virginia, hosted by WVU Tech, for a second consecutive year. Play begins on November 5^th and will continue until November 8^th. You'll be able to follow all of the action using the USCAA's Soccer National Championships website, where you'll get up-to-date scores and stats, as well as the option to watch games live.

WVU Tech women's soccer enters the tournament as the #8 seed and is set to face #9 Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse Wednesday at the Friends of Coal Fields Trace Fork Soccer Complex at 11:00 a.m.

The men of WVU Tech are ranked #2 and will play against the winner of the University of Maine at Machias/Penn State Brandywine game, action is scheduled for Thursday at Schoenbaum Soccer Complex (Coonskin Park), 7:30 p.m. All games are free and open to the public.

Below is a brief look at all twenty teams that will be making the trip to Charleston in search of a USCAA Soccer National Championship.

Men's Soccer

#1 University of Maine Fort Kent

• The Bengal Tigers are led by the nation's leading goal scorer Ben Kluvers (25). Kluvers also has the highest amount of game winning goals in the nation this season with eight.

• University of Maine Fort Kent is not just strong going forward, they are strong on both sides of the ball. Both of their keepers are ranked in the top five for goals against average. Ahkiem Forbes is second in the nation with a GAA of .32 while teammate Jamie Cleland is right behind him with an average of .41.

• The 2010 USCAA Men's Soccer National Champions are arriving in Charleston with a record of 18-0-1.

#2 West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech)

• The defending champions and host school have a 14-1-1 record in 2014 and have won 9 straight matches coming into this year's tournament.

• The Golden Bears have wins over Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse, Washington Adventist University, and Cleary University. In those games they are 3-0-1 and outscored their opponents 10-2.

• They are second in the USCAA in goals scored with a tally of 98. Alex Pastor leads the team with 13.

#3 Bryant & Stratton College-Syracuse

• The Bobcats have the fourth leading goal scorer this season in Sean Latimer, who has put the ball into the back of the net 22 times this season. Sean is also fifth in points this season with 47.

• Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse played WVU Tech in a game earlier in the season that ended in a 1-1 tie after double overtime. Should both teams win their opening match we will have a rematch of the game with even more on the line.

• The Bobcats have 260 shots on goal this season, enough to top the mark in the USCAA.

#4 Concordia College Alabama

• The Hornets come into the tournament with a 12-4 record and ranked sixth in the nation in assists with 41.

• This marks the team's second trip in three years to the National Championship.

• Concordia College Alabama has one more game to play before they pack their bags and head to Charleston, WV. They will battle Delta State University, a NCAA Division 2 team, in a warm-up match before the National Tournament.

#5 Illinois Institute of Technology

• The fifth seeded Scarlet Hawks will play Concordia College Alabama in their opening round game.

• Illinois Tech is averaging almost four goals per game while only allowing a little more than one goal a game. This has led them to a record of 11-4-1.

• Euijin Yang is the top goalkeeper in the USCAA with five shutouts this year. The Scarlet Hawks will be a tough team to score on should they keep their form in the tournament.

#6 Rochester College

• The Warriors are riding a four game winning streak into the tournament, with two of those wins coming over eighth seeded Cleary University.

• Rochester will be looking to upset Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse on their opening match on November 6^th.

• Tony Hermiz has guided the Warriors to a record of 8-5 in his first year in charge the men's team.

#7 University of Maine Machias

• The Clippers are coming off a 12-2 season, with one of their loses being against number one seed University of Maine Fort Kent.

• Franck Zeba leads the Yankee Conference Champions and is third in the country in assists with 12.

• They will play the champion of the Penn State Athletic Conference, Penn State Brandywine, in the opening round at Schoebaum Stadium.

#8 Cleary University

• The Cougars of Cleary University have the fifth leading shot taker in the nation with Hermes Toska. He has attempted 72 shots this season with 13 of those shots finding the back of the net, which ranks 16^th in the USCAA.

• Cleary has battled against Rochester College along with WVU Tech in the regular season. They will hope to use those games as strong foundation should they face either team in the later stages of the tournament.

• Coach Tom Greeley has plenty of experience, and will make sure his team is prepared to make a run at their first USCAA Men's Soccer National Championship.

#9 Washington Adventist University

• Washington Adventist's goalkeeper, Jordhon Horelien, is ranked 10^th in the nation with 98 saves this season.

• With a win on November 5th they would face the University of Maine Fort Kent, which would be a rematch of the 2013 quarterfinal.

• Freshman Samuel Kahsai has scored eleven times this season while junior midfielder Emmanuel Ajayi has nine goals for the season.

#10 Penn State Brandywine

• The Lions are led by the third leading goal scorer in the nation, Bill Walleekendeh, who has 23 for the season. Walleekendeh is also third in points this season with 51.

• Penn State Brandywine has a six game winning streak coming into the tournament. With their latest win in the Penn State University Athletics Conference Championship over Penn State York.

• With a 12-7 record the Lions will use their good form of recent to make a run as the number 10 seed in this year's tournament.

Women's Soccer

#1 University of Maine Fort Kent

• The defending champion Bengal Tigers come into this year's tournament with a record of 12-2-1. They've won their past two matches, outscoring opponents 14-0.

• The University of Maine Fort Kent is third in the nation in goals with 63, and second in shots with 348.

• Katherine Ferland is ranked fourth in the nation in goals (24), assists (11), points (59), and game-winning goals (5).

#2 SUNY ESF

• The Mighty Oaks of SUNY ESF have Heather Carl on the squad. Carl has 11 assists this year to rank fourth in the USCAA.

• SUNY ESF has a recent 5-3 win over fellow tournament attendee Alfred State College. With their 12-1 record they also have wins over ACPHS and Bryant & Stratton College Syracuse.

• The Mighty Oaks only loss this year was against the number one seeded team in the tournament, University of Maine Fort Kent, in a double overtime match that finished 3-2.

#3 Daemen College

• The winners of the 2012 tournament and the runner-up in last year's tournament, the Wildcats have a big win over the University of Maine Fort Kent early in the season.

• Daemen College also has one of the hardest schedules in the USCAA, playing mostly Division II NCAA teams.

• Dan Dolan is in his sixth year at the helm of the Wildcats with an overall record of 54-37-2 coming into of the 2014 season.

#4 Alfred State College

• Kali Muhleisen is tied for fifth in the USCAA with 19 goals.

• The Pioneers are not afraid to have an attempt on goal with over 360 shots this season, tops in the USCAA. Of those, over 230 of them have been on frame, which also leads the association.

• Alfred State College has faced two teams that will be in attendance at this year's championship in Bryant & Stratton College-Syracuse and SUNY ESF.

#5 Florida College

• Michelle Rodriguez leads the Falcons in points this season with 23.

• They average 15.6 shots per game with just over half of those shots being on frame.

• The Falcons have not missed a penalty kick all season, so if any of their matches reach that point they may have an advantage over their opponent.

#6 Carlow University

• Ashlyn Fratto is second in the USCAA in save percentage (.867). On average she allows less than one goal a game and has accounted for over 60 saves in her 11 games this year.

• With only one loss in their past six games the Celtics are coming to Charleston in good form with tons of confidence.

#7 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

• The Lady Panthers come into the tournament with a record of 10-4, having played three teams that are also going to be in attendance at the National Championship. They will build off of those previous matches for this year's tournament.

• Coach Christine Kanawada is in her fifth season in charge of the Lady Panthers. ACPHS has made it to the semifinals the previous two years.

• Sarah Cope has 18 goals this season, which is good for eighth in the USCAA. Cope also has four game-winning goals recorded.

#8 West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech)

• WVU Tech makes its second consecutive trip to the tournament.

• With three of her four top scorers as freshman, Coach Kot will use their energy and excitement to her advantage on their home field.

• Cresha Jones has not missed a penalty kick for the Golden Bears. She will be a threat for any goalkeeper if she is given the chance to have a shot from 12 yards out.

#9 Bryant & Stratton College-Syracuse

• Kai Jacobs leads the team with eight assists on the year and Dylan Burgess has tallied 46 shots this season.

• The Bobcats have played Albany College of Pharmacy and SUNY ESF this season, who will also be in attendance at this year's National Championship.

• With 41 goals during their current campaign, the Bobcats will be an exciting team to watch.

#10 Unity College

• Unity College has 36 goals in their 13 games this year with 14 of those goals coming from Mariza Gionfriddo, who leads the team.

• The Rams have four out of their last six games and have only conceded five goals while scoring 18 in that stretch.