West Babylon, N.Y. – The brackets for the East Coast Conference Men's and Women's Soccer Championships have been finalized after the conclusion of regular season play on Saturday.
The semifinals of the tournament will be hosted by the top two seeds and the final will be hosted by the highest remaining seed. Tournament action begins on Tuesday, October 31 when the men's semifinals kick off and will conclude with the women's championship game on Saturday, November 4. All games of both championships will be broadcast on the ECC Network. Viewers can tune in at www.eccsportsnetwork.com or by downloading the ECC Network app on Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, or Roku streaming devices.
Men's Soccer
LIU Post is the top seed in their attempt to three-peat after clinching at least a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship for the seventh consecutive year (the Pioneers shared the Regular Season title in 2012 and 2014). The Pioneers, are unbeaten on the season with a 14-0-2 record (8-0-1 ECC) and are ranked No. 5 in the country in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.
The Pioneers will take on No. 4 seed and Northern Boulevard rival, NYIT in a semifinal matchup.. The Bears (9-8-1, 5-4-0 ECC) needed to win their season finale on Saturday and did so to clinch a fourth straight ECC Championship appearance.
The two rivals played earlier this week, with LIU Post coming away victorious by a score of 4-1.
Mercy is back in the bracket for the first time since 2013 as the No. 2 seed. The Mavericks (13-4, 7-2 ECC) are in search of their first ECC title since the 2004 season.
Mercy's semifinal opponent will be No. 3 seed, University of the District of Columbia. The Firebirds (13-5, 6-3 ECC) are making their first-ever appearance in the ECC Championship in their sixth season competing in the league.
UDC was the winner in the regular season matchup between the two schools, winning by a convincing 5-0 margin.
Women's Soccer
On the women's side, LIU Post earned the top-seed and a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship with a 14-2-1 (7-0-1 ECC) record. Like their men's team, the Pioneers were ranked No. 5 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top-25 poll.
The Pioneers, who are in their 13th straight ECC Championship, will have two-tim defending champion and No. 4 seed, Bridgeport, as their semifinal opponent. The Purple Knights (8-7-2, 4-3-1 ECC) clinched the final spot in the tournament with a 1-0 win over LIU Post in both school's regular season finale on Saturday evening.
Mercy is the No. 2 seed and will host the other semifinal. The Mavericks (14-3-0, 7-1-0 ECC), who earned a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship for the first time in program history, are making their fifth straight ECC Championship appearance.
No. 3 seed Molloy will be Mercy's semifinal opponent. The Lions (8-7-2, 5-3 ECC) end a five year playoff drought by earning their first ECC Championship berth since the 2011 season.
Mercy topped Molloy by a final score of 2-0 in the regular season meeting between the two schools
2017 East Coast Conference Men's Soccer Championship
Semifinals – Tuesday, October 31
No. 4 NYIT at No. 1 LIU Post - 1:00 p.m.
No. 3 Dist. Columbia at No. 2 Mercy - 1:00 p.m.
Final – Friday, November 3
at highest remaining seed - time TBD
2017 East Coast Conference Women's Soccer Championship
Semifinals – Wednesday, November 1
No. 4 Bridgeport at No. 1 LIU Post - 1:00 p.m.
No. 3 Molloy at No. 2 Mercy - 1:00 p.m.
Final – Saturday, November 4
at highest remaining seed - time TBD
