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Oct. 25, 2007
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - The postseason begins Sunday for the Lewis University men's soccer team, as the No. 15 Flyers host Bellarmine in a Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinal matchup at 2 p.m. Lewis (14-4-0) enters the GLVC tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation, carrying a seven-game win streak into the playoffs. It is the program's longest win streak since 2003 when the Flyers also put together a seven-game run. A win on Sunday against Bellarmine would give the Flyers their longest win streak since 2001 when Lewis won 14 consecutive games before falling in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Lewis has qualified for the GLVC tournament each season since joining the conference in 1980 and last hosted a conference tournament game in 2004. Lewis' last conference tournament title came in 2003. To make a run at the title this season, the Flyers, seeded third, will have to get by a sixth-seeded Bellarmine team which was responsible for one of the Flyers' four losses during the regular season. As was the case in each of their four setbacks this season, the Flyers fell to Bellarmine by one goal, in a 2-1 decision played at Louisville on Sept. 9. The Flyers fell behind 2-0 in that game before getting a goal from sophomore Kipp Cartwright in the game's 72nd minute. Bellarmine goalie Justin Welply, who ranks third in the GLVC with 85 saves, prevented Lewis from getting any closer. He stopped nine shots en route to the win. Despite finishing the regular season 4-5 over their last nine games, the Knights (12-8-0, 8-5-0 GLVC) have won three of the last four entering play this weekend. They have received goals from 13 different players, but two freshmen have emerged as the team's main scoring threats over the past four games. Ross Hopkins, a midfielder from Skerries, Ireland, has scored four of the team's last 11 goals, and Brad Barraclough, a forward from Lincoln, England, has added three. The duo ranks first and second on the team in total points, and the Bellarmine offense ranks second in the conference with 44 goals. Lewis comes in to the GLVC tournament with the league's top offense, having scored 46 goals on the season. Junior Cory Mastey leads the team with 12 tallies and is one of four Flyers with five or more goals. During the Flyers' current seven-game win streak, however, junior Jorge De Jesus (6 goals) and sophomore Nestor Hernandez (5 goals) have led the way in scoring as Lewis has outscored it opponents 23-4. Prior to the Flyers win streak, the offense was averaging 2.09 goals per game. Since then, Lewis has upped that total to 3.29 per contest. Along with an improved offense, the Flyers have tightened their defensive grip. Backed by a seasoned core of defenders and a goalie who is playing the best soccer of his Lewis career in junior Anthony Szymel, the Flyers have the third-best defense in the conference. Szymel has led the Flyers to four of their season-total seven shutouts during the current win streak, allowing only three goals over his last 556:33 minutes of action and posting a 0.49 GAA with a .880 save percentage. If the Flyers advance past Bellarmine on Sunday they'll play next on Nov. 2 against the winner of SIU Edwardsville/Indianapolis in a semifinal game. Click here for a look at the GLVC tournament bracket. A successful run in the conference tournament could help seal an NCAA bid for the Flyers. Lewis currently finds itself in position for the program's fifth NCAA tournament berth, as the Flyers rank third in the Great Lakes Region. The top four teams in the region receive an invite for the tournament. The Flyers reached the 2000 national semifinals in their first postseason competition and returned to the tournament in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
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