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ESU Tuesday PSAC Tournament Schedule
1 p.m. FH vs. Slippery Rock (Whitenight Field)  l  Preview  l  Live Stats/Video
3 p.m. MSOC vs. Mercyhurst (Eiler-Martin Stadium)  l  Preview  l  Live Stats/Video (Game Time Updated)
6 p.m. WSOC vs. Slippery Rock (Eiler-Martin Stadium)  l  Preview  l  Live Stats/Video

Tickets:
$10 adults
$5 childen 12 and under, seniors 65 and older
Free PSAC students with ID


EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University returns to the PSAC postseason tournament for the first time since 2010 on Tuesday, with the fourth-seeded Warriors hosting No. 5 Mercyhurst at 3 p.m. in a first round matchup at Eiler-Martin Stadium. (Note: Game Time Updated)

The teams will be facing each other for a second time in four days, as ESU clinched a home game in the tournament after topping the Lakers by a 3-1 final on Saturday. The Warriors (12-3-1, 8-3 PSAC) enter on a six-game winning streak, their longest since 2008, while Mercyhurst (12-5, 8-3 PSAC) had won five straight prior to Saturday's defeat.

This will be the third postseason meeting between the two squads. Mercyhurst topped ESU in 1995 (2-0) and 1998 (1-0) in NCAA DII tournament matchups. The teams have never faced each other in the PSAC tournament.

The winner of Tuesday's matchup will advance to play top-seeded West Chester (13-2-1, 11-0 PSAC) in the semifinals at 11 a.m. on Friday. The Golden Rams will host both of Friday's semifinal contests and Sunday's 1 p.m. championship game.

The Warriors have outscored opponents 41-15 on the year. Their defense has been particularly strong in recent weeks, as Mercyhurst's 13th minute opener on Saturday snapped a shutout streak of 4:37.08 which included four-straight clean sheets from October 13-26.

Senior Keelby Espinola and sophomore Mateo Laredo-Fernandez have anchored the center backline all year. Espinola, a 2015 second team All-PSAC selection who has started all 66 games in his collegiate career, has also provided five points (2 G, 1 A) to the team's offensive effort.

Seniors James McMahon and Shaquille Stephenson have contributed from defensive wing positions. McMahon is one of five players to start all 16 games this year, though he did leave Saturday's contest early due to injury. When healthy, he has supplied 11 points (4 G, 3 A), which more than doubles his previous career total of five and ranks tied for second on the team.

Stephenson has also aided the Warriors on both sides of the ball, as he has added seven points (2 G, 3 A) to go along with strong defensive play.

Graduate student Nico Gericke made his season debut on Sept. 30 against Slippery Rock, and he has played a valuable role on both the backline and from a defensive midfield position. Gericke has made eight starts, with the Warriors tallying a 7-1 record in those contests.

Other contributors on the backline have include freshman Oliver Lundberg (14 games, two starts), sophomore Matthew West (13 games, two assists) and freshman Andre Haneland (five games, one start).

That backline has supported junior goalkeeper Will Boerema, who has started all 16 games and has played all but 45 of the team's minutes this season. Boerema ranks second in the PSAC in goals-against average (0.93) and third in individual shutouts (5). He has contributed to 10 clean sheets overall in his collegiate career (nine individual, one combined).

ESU's offense has been just as important to the team's success. The Warriors 41-goal total is already the most since the 2008 squad had 54 on its way to the program's most-recent NCAA DII tournament appearance.

Junior forward Eddy Enowbi has led the offensive attack for a majority of the season, as he tops the team rankings in goals (8), points (18) and shots (43). The Silver Spring, Md., native has totaled four game-winning goals, and he has registered points in six of the last nine games (6 G, 2 A).

McMahon, sophomore forward Irvin Zuzic (4 G, 3 A), freshman forward Anton Lysell (5 G, 1 A) and senior midfielder Christian Bukowski (3 G, team-high 4 A) also have double-digit points this season. Bukowski, an All-PSAC and D2CCA All-Atlantic Region first team performer last fall, enters Tuesday with points in four of ESU's last five games (2 G, 4 A).

The Warriors have relied on their depth all year, with 14 different players scoring at least one goal and 17 tallying at least one point. Other offensive contributors include freshman forward Michael Tolley (3 G, 3 A), junior midfielder Brandon Levano (3 G, 2 A), sophomore forward Marcus Torgersson (1 G, 5 A), sophomore forward Lata Petros (2 G, 2 A) and junior midfielder Jo Panuccio (2 G, 2 A).

ESU has the best scoring margin (+1.62) among PSAC schools; the Warriors are second in the conference in both scoring offense (2.56 goals/per game) and goals-against average (0.94).

ESU's men's soccer program has a storied history in the PSAC tournament. The Warriors have won 19 PSAC titles, a total which ranks second overall in conference history behind Lock Haven (20). ESU topped the conference for seven-straight seasons from 1997-2003; the program's most-recent league title came in 2007.

No. 3 Millersville will host No. 6 Seton Hill in the other first round matchup on Tuesday. The winner of that contest will face No. 2 Gannon in the second semifinal at West Chester at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.