History In The Making For The Westminster College Men’s Soccer Team

The Westminster College men’s soccer team in Fulton, MO is writing a page for the record books by advancing to the Sectionals Round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in the college’s history. They will be traveling to Dubuque, IA on Saturday, Nov. 23, to face the host school, Loras College, at 5 p.m. in the Sectionals Round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Tournament.

The entire Westminster  College community will send the Blue Jays off to the Sweet 16 with a 12:30 p.m. Pep Rally on Thursday, Nov. 21, in the Historic Gymnasium.  All attendees are asked to wear Blue Jay Blue and the public is invited.

The Westminster-Loras game on Saturday will be live streamed at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/loras.portal#.

“I think our men’s soccer team is a remarkable leadership story,” said President Forsythe about the season so far. “It is a credit to Coach Bordelon’s leadership and a credit to not only the team captains, but the team as a whole that rallied around his coaching philosophy and gelled together despite the fact they had a very difficult beginning of the season.”

A slow start to the season was countered by an 8-0 conference win streak. A loss to Webster University ended the streak, putting the Blue Jays in a three-way tie for first place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). The Blue Jays pulled their revenge with a 2-1 win over Webster in the SLIAC Tournament to win the program’s first ever SLIAC Tournament Title. The SLIAC Tournament win punched the Blue Jays’ ticket to the program’s second NCAA Tournament berth.

“I think the competitiveness we faced in the SLIAC really helped us prepare for the first couple of rounds of the Tournament,” said first year Head Soccer Coach Andrew Bordelon.

The Blue Jays faced Carleton College (15-3-3) in Saint Peter, MN for the first round of the Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 16. A goal by Samuel Lopez (San Pedro Sula, Honduras) in the 85th minute off an assist by Josh Jaycox (Fenton, MO /Rock Summit) gave the Blue Jays’ the 1-0 win, sending them to the second round for the first time in program history.

The following day, Sunday, Nov. 17, the Blue Jays played the host school, Gustavus Adolphus College (14-4-1).  A goal by Mitch Stewart (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) with assists from Lopez and Drew Cook (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) in the 25th minute proved to be the game winning goal for the Blue Jays.

“It was a fantastic weekend for the Westminster soccer program. We played two quality teams that gave us a handful during certain stretches of the game, but our guys responded admirably,” commented Coach Bordelon.

When asked about the upcoming game, Westminster Athletic Director Matt Mitchell said, “The campus and conference are excited about it. They are the first program at Westminster that has advanced in the NCAA Tournament.”

The Westminster Blue Jays come into this weekend’s game with a 13-8-1 record.  Loras is currently 17-1-3 on its season with the only loss coming from Wartburg College midseason.

The winner of the Westminster versus Loras game Saturday will play the winner of Wartburg College and Trinity College on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 5:00 p.m.

The NCAA  Division III Tournament started with 61 teams and dropped to 32 teams after the first round. Heading into the sectional round this weekend, only 16 teams remain out of the 442 NCAA Division III schools. After the first round of the Sectionals, the Elite Eight will be decided.

Once this Sectionals weekend is over, the final four teams left standing will compete in the Semifinals in San Antonio, TX on December 6.  The Championship game will be held the following day in San Antonio.

Founded in 1851, Westminster College is one of the top liberal arts colleges in America, according to all major educational ranking firms including U.S.News & World Report, Forbes magazine, The Princeton Review and Washington Monthly.  National high school counselors recognize Westminster as one of the Top Two Liberal Arts Colleges in Missouri to receive the best education.  This selective college for men and women operates on two campuses, one an 86-acre residential campus in Fulton, MO, and a second Southwestern urban campus in the vibrant downtown of Mesa, AZ.  Westminster is a challenging academic environment where students are educated to lead and inspired to achieve.

To learn more about Westminster College, people can visit the College web site at www.westminster-mo.edu.