Nov. 10, 2008

Romeoville, Ill. – The Lewis University men’s soccer team may have not come away with a Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament championship, but the Flyers now have their sights set on the 2008 NCAA Division II National Championship, as head coach Evan Fiffles and his troops will travel to Kansas City, Missouri to participate in the NCAA Regional against host and GLVC Champion, No. 1 seed, Rockhurst.

   First kick is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 14) night.

   This will be the second time this season that Lewis (14-1-2) and Rockhurst (16-1-3) have squared off, as both teams battled to a 0-0 double overtime tie on October 19^th. The Flyers and the Hawks comprise two of the three teams in the National Tournament that have just one loss on the season.

   “We’ve been to Rockhurst already this year and we know that we can compete with them,” Fiffles said. “That’s a big advantage, compared to playing someone that we haven’t seen before.”

   Lewis is led offensively by a pair of All-Great Lakes Valley Conference First Team selections in junior forward Nestor Hernandez (Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) and senior midfielder Cory Mastey (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew). Hernandez leads the team in goals (11) and points scored (26), while Mastey has found the back of the net 10 times this season.

   Minding the net for the Flyers will be senior standout goalkeeper Anthony Szymel (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North). Szymel, who was named to the All-GLVC Second Team, has a record of 14-1-2 and has allowed just 0.59 goals per game, while stopping 86.3% of opponent shots.

   Prior to the Lewis/Rockhurst showdown will be another regional match-up between No. 2 seed Northern Kentucky (15-2-2) and No. 3 Ashland (15-3-2) at 4 p.m. The winners of both matches will square off at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 16) for the regional championship.

   Last season, Lewis dropped a 2-1 decision to SIU-Edwardsville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  

   Fiffles and his squad know that they will not be just happy to be in the tournament.

   “We can not take it for granted, just to get the bid,” Fiffles said. “I have to give credit to the guys for playing well and now we have a chance to get the ‘W’ on Friday.”

   A Catholic University sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis offers nearly 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, accelerated degree completion options for working adults, various aviation programs and 22 graduate programs in nine fields. The mid-sized university is being honored for the fifth consecutive year by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. For more information please visit www.lewisu.edu.                                                              

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