ATHENS, W.Va. -- Point Park men's soccer is set to face Concord in the first round of the MEC Tournament on Sunday. Opening kick for the quarterfinal matchup is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Callaghan Stadium.
ROUND ONE
Point Park is back in the MEC Playoffs for the second consecutive year after clinching the third and final playoff spot in the MEC North Division. The Pioneers, despite a loss on Wednesday at No. 10 Davis & Elkins, locked in their spot with 16 points in the conference.
Point Park has qualified for the postseason in all but one year of Head Coach Cameron Williams' tenure.
ALL-CONFERENCE ACTION
Point Park featured four players named to the MEC All-Conference Teams, headlined by Hector Moreno's nod to the All-MEC First Team. In addition to Moreno, Joel Gomez and Alejandro Vega were both named All-MEC Honorable Mentions, and Sindri Hjaltested secured a spot on the All-MEC Freshman Team.
LET IT RIP
Hector Moreno leads Point Park with six goals and 12 points this season. Joel Gomez ranks second on the team with four goals and 9 points, while Alejandro Vega has contributed three goals and 6 points. Moreno is tied for fifth in the MEC in goals, and he is sixth in the MEC in shots per game.
Moreno has been a consistent offensive presence for the Pioneers, who have scored 18 goals this season. Point Park has recorded 208 shots and 85 shots on goal, averaging 1.06 goals per game.
Vega has added an offensive threat from the back line, including his goal in Point Park's 2-1 win over West Liberty on Oct. 21. Gomez has also been productive in the attacking third, giving the Pioneers multiple options as they enter postseason play.
Point Park has totaled 61 corner kicks this season, creating opportunities to generate offense from set pieces. Point Park scored both of its goals on Senior Night against West Liberty from corner kicks, with Vega's tally coming from a corner and Luca Alessandro Ferraro forcing an own goal after he directed a corner kick off the crossbar.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
Concord secured the second seed in the MEC South Division with its 11-2 MEC record (12-3-2 overall record). The Mountain Lions' only MEC losses have come at the hands of Charleston, which was ranked third in the nation in the team's last matchup. Concord knocked off then-No. 12 Davis & Elkins on Oct. 4.
Josiah Ochoa leads the Mountain Lions with his five goals and 14 points. He ranks second on the team in shots with 23, and his nine shots on goal are good for third most. Costa Lucas, who is tied with Dominique Malhomme for second on CU with four goals, leads all Mountain Lions in shots (25) and shots on goal (12).
Iori Tanaka has started all 16 of Concord's games this season, posting a goals-against average of 0.58 and a save percentage of .804.
Concord picked up a 2-0 win over Point Park on Sept. 23, with Lucas Costa and Keeyan Thomas scoring in the second half for the victory.
FORT FUSAY
Goalkeeper Anthony Fusay has been a fixture in goal for Point Park throughout the season, having played all 1,510 minutes of action for Point Park this season. The junior has recorded 58 saves, a .690 save percentage and a 1.55 goals-against average, along with three shutouts.
Fusay's best start came against West Liberty on Oct. 21, in which he made a season-high seven saves in the 2-1 win. He added five saves against Davis & Elkins, creating a three-game streak with four or more saves. He has posted four or more saves in 10 of his 17 starts this season.
EVERYBODY EATS
Point Park has seven different goalscorers on the season, with Moreno's six tallies leading the pack. Joel Gomez has bagged four goals, and Alejandro Vega scored three.
Lander Barrio Gonzalez, Rocco Domenighini, Hugo Ferreira and Nikolas Suarez have all dented the twin this season, with Gonzalez and Edouard Gagnon tying for the team lead in assists with two apiece.
Domenighini, Guilherme Galvo, Gomez, Louis Guffroy and Hijs Van Den Berg have all tallied assists this season.
PRESEASON PRAISE
Point Park was picked to finish second in the Mountain East Conference North Division in the MEC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll. The Pioneers received four of the 10 first-place votes.
