For Immediate Release: November 17, 2003
Contact: David O'Brian
Phone: 607-777-6800

Binghamton to face Fairleigh Dickinson in first round of NCAA Tournament on Saturday at noon

Link to Complete NCAA Brackets

VESTAL, N.Y. - The Binghamton men's soccer team (11-2-7), fresh off its America East Conference title, will face Fairleigh Dickinson (14-4-1) in the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament this Saturday at noon. The winner of that first-round contest will face St. Louis, which received a first-round bye, next Wednesday.

Binghamton is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the men's soccer team moved up to the Division I level in 2000 and its 10th appearance overall. Between 1974-1994, the team made eight trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament and in 1973, it competed in the College Division Tournament, which consisted of both Division II and III schools.

"We are pleased with the draw," head coach Paul Marco said. "We are excited just to be in the tournament. Fairleigh Dickinson is a very good team. They have been in the tournament before and have a little bit more experience than us but our team has come together towards the end of the year and we have fought hard to get to where we are. I think it will be a great game."

"It is a really great draw for the team," sophomore back Graham Munro said. "One of our guys (Phil Grommet) is from Teaneck, N.J. (where Fairleigh Dickinson is located). We are really excited about it."

"We are looking forward to going down there," senior back Pat Skinner said. "We have a lot of alumni close by in New York City so we are hoping for a good turnout."

The Bearcats will face a Fairleigh Dickinson squad that is currently ranked No. 13 in the latest NSCAA poll. The Knights, who won the Northeast Conference for the fourth year in a row, advanced to the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament before losing to St. John's, 2-1, in double overtime. In 2001, Fairleign Dickinson advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to North Carolina, 3-2.