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MATCHUP
Who: #4 Saint Francis Red Flash (6-7-5, 4-3-3) vs. #1 Quinnipiac Bobcats (10-5-2, 8-1-1)
When: Friday Nov. 9 - 11 a.m.
Where: West Haven, Conn. - West Haven High School

Saint Francis squares off against top-seeded Quinnipiac in the semifinal round of the Northeast Conference tournament Friday. The Red Flash are on a quest to capture the program's first NEC championship. SFU enters the game with a 6-7-5 overall record and a 4-3-3 mark in NEC play while the Bobcats finished the regular season 10-5-2, 8-1-1 in league action. Saint Francis recorded 15 points on the year, QU topped the conference standings with 25.

Today marks the 16th meeting between these two schools with Quinnipiac holding a slight advantage in the program series 8-6-1.

PREVIOUS MEETING
The Flash and Bobcats met just two weeks ago in Loretto with QU coming out the victors of the match 2-0. William Cavallo and Machel Baker tallied goals in the game and the Bobcats edged the Red Flash slightly in shots 14-12. Quinnipiac goalkeeper Borja Angoitia preserved the shutout by making six saves on the afternoon.

MAKING IT IN
Coming into the last weekend of regular season play, the Red Flash needed a flawless, no loss weekend in order to sneak into the postseason tournament, and the team rose to the occasion. Last Friday, SFU exploded for a 5-0 win over LIU Brooklyn and earned a hard fought 0-0 tie to Mount St. Mary's Sunday. With the tie and a loss by Sacred Heart, and even ineligibility on the part of CCSU, Saint Francis enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed.

DANNY V'S GOALKEEPING
Starting SFU goalkeeper Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College) is having a senior season to remember after he posted his eighth shutout of the season Nov. 4 against the Mount, giving him 13 for his collegiate career. Additionally, Valcicak is among the best keeper's in the nation as he is ranked among the top-25 in a multitude of categories. With an .720 goals against average Valcicak ranks 17th in the NCAA, is fourth with an .865 save percentage and is tied for 24th with 83 total saves.

RETURN TO NEC'S
Saint Francis returns to the NEC tournament after taking a one year hiatus from postseason play. This trip to the
tournament marks the fifth time in program history that the team has qualified for postseason play.
In three of four NEC tournament appearances, Saint Francis has reached the championship match, falling by just one goal in those three games. In 2004, the first year qualifying for the postseason, the Flash lost in penalty kicks to LIU Brooklyn in the semifinal round. In the years to come, SFU fell 1-0 to Monmouth in 2006, 1-0 to CCSU the following season and 1-0 again to Monmouth in 2010.

Current head coach Michael Casper has taken the team to the championship match in both of his postseason
appearances. Through his six seasons as head coach of the Red Flash, Casper has guided his team to three NEC tournament berths.

SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS
Saint Francis is tops in the Northeast Conference in terms of shots as they have accumulated 273 on the season, 25 better than second ranked Robert Morris. The Red Flash are averaging 15.2 shots per contest and took their highest amount of the year, 27, in Sunday's regular season finale against the Mount.

SCORING OUTBURST
Last Friday night in Loretto the Red Flash men notched its highest goal scoring effort of the season in a 5-0 rout of LIU Brooklyn. Prior to the game, the Flash had scored a total of eight goals all season. Early in the second half, SFU scored four of its five goals within a 12 minute span.

ACADEMIC HONORS
Senior defender Tamas Maffey-Stumpe (Cairns, Queensland, Australia/Mossman State) earned CoSIDA Academic All-District first team honors for the first time in his career. A scorer of four goals in his career, Maffey-Stumpe has been a stable in the SFU backfield, aiding in 30 shutouts for the Red Flash over the past four years.

D-FENCE!
The Red Flash defense and keeper Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College) have allowed the second fewest amount of goals in the conference at 15, two behind leader Monmouth. Also Saint Francis ranks second in the league with a .780 goals against average and are tied for the top spot in the field of 11 teams by posting nine shutouts on the year.
These numbers have ranked SFU 19th in goals against average, tied for 12th in shutout percentage and tied for fifth in save percentage on a national level.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Senior defender James Price (Christchurch, New Zealand/St. Andrew’s College) earned a spot on the Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch Lists for 2012 earlier this season. The MAC Hermann Trophy watch list is comprised of 42 men and 38 women who have been identified as players to follow this season. Presented annually in January during a banquet in St. Louis, Miss., the MAC Hermann Trophy is the highest individual award in intercollegiate soccer.