Notre Dame College to Host ECAC Men’s Soccer Tourney

Courtesy of Notre Dame College (OH) — Junior Forward Christian Earnest (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) is NDC's second leading goal scorer.

The Eastern College Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Committee announced the field and host for the 2011 ECAC Division II Men’s Soccer Championship today.

The field will feature three teams: the Storm of Lake Erie College (Ohio), the Falcons of Notre Dame College (Ohio) and the Tigers of Salem International University (W.Va.).

The competition will be played over two days, Nov. 12-13, at Korb Field in Lyndhurst, Ohio. Notre Dame — the 2010 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Runner-up and current NCAA-II provisional member – was announced as the tournament host, reviving the event after a five-year hiatus.

“It is an honor to be given the opportunity to host the 2011 ECAC Division II Championship,” Notre Dame Head Coach Michael “Mac” McBride said. “We are very excited to showcase how we do things here at Notre Dame College.”

Undefeated in its last 34 regular season games, Notre Dame (18-0-0) was announced as the top-seeded team and will receive a pass to the final game, a 7 p.m. kickoff on Sunday.

Second-seeded Lake Erie (8-8-2) will take on No. 3-seed Salem International (7-6-2) on Saturday. That match is slated for a 5 p.m. kickoff and is a reprise of an earlier meeting this season (Oct. 19) when the Storm defeated the Tigers 4-0. The winner of the LEC-SIU game will advance to face NDC on Sunday.

The ECAC sponsors nearly 100 championships in 27 sports. The organization includes over 320 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois.

Through 2010, the ECAC has sponsored 20 Division II Men’s Soccer title events. Bridgeport (N.Y.), Long Island-Southampton (N.Y.), Keene State (N.H.), and St. Anselm (N.H.) have each captured two ECAC titles over that time.

This year’s tournament will be the first the ECAC has held in D-II men’s soccer since 2005, when American International (Mass.) defeated C.W. Post (N.Y.), 1-0, to win the title.

“We will work industriously to rally the Notre Dame College campus and its surrounding community to ensure this is the best-supported soccer championship the ECAC has ever had,” McBride said.