Nov. 3, 2007

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Lewis University men's soccer team is one win away from claiming its eighth Great Lakes Valley Conference championship in program history. To win the title, the Flyers will have to do what no other team in nation has done this season. Beat Northern Kentucky.

In a game featuring two of the hottest teams in NCAA Division II, No. 15 Lewis faces No. 1 Northern Kentucky, tournament host, for the GLVC crown Sunday at Noon.

Lewis (16-4) is playing in its fourth conference championship game of the last seven seasons. After starting this year 7-4, the Flyers have rattled off nine consecutive wins, outscoring their opponents 28-5 during the run.

The only team in the conference with longer winning streak is NKU, which has yet to lose a game this season. The Norse carry a 20-0 record into the final, having outscored their foes by a dominating 47-7 mark on the season.

That record includes a 1-0 decision over Lewis back on Sept. 7, in a highly physical contest that saw a total of 48 fouls, five yellow cards and one red card.

Freshman Steven Beattie gave the host Norse all they needed in the win when he knocked an 18-yard shot into the lower right corner at 6:13 of the first half. The Norse defense did the rest, holding Lewis to four shots for the game. Junior Cory Mastey had a chance to send the contest to overtime with a shot in the final minute of regulation, but the blast went wide.

NKU's 20-game win streak shouldn't intimidate Lewis, as the Flyers have been in a similar situation in the past. Lewis snapped SIU Edwardsville's 15-game win streak to claim the league title back in 2003.

Also, the Flyers are a much different team than the one NKU saw On Sept. 7. Through its first 11 games of the season, Lewis averaged 2.09 goals per game while allowing 1.09. Since then the Flyers have upped their scoring average to 3.09 while holding opponents to 0.56 goals per contest.

Lewis' improved defense is anchored by goalkeeper Anthony Szymel. An All-GLVC selection for a second straight season, Szymel has allowed only four goals over the past nine games while making 29 saves.

Mastey leads Lewis in scoring with 13 goals for the season, including the game-winner against Indianapolis in the semifinals on Friday, but the Flyers' offense doesn't end there. Sophomore Nestor Hernandez has scored six of his nine goals on the season during the team's nine-game winning streak, including one GLVC tournament tally.

Junior Jorge De Jesus has seven goals for the year, with six coming during the last eight games, and senior Anthony Marsico has scored all five of his goals during the win streak, including two in the Flyers' first-round GLVC Tournament win over Bellarmine.

The late season offensive surge has helped Lewis jump ahead of NKU for the No. 1 spot in the conference for scoring, as the Flyers average 2.55 goals per game compared to 2.35 by the Norse. Lewis will need to muster all the offense it can against NKU, the nation's best defensive team.

Along with the fewest goals given up, the Norse defense has allowed just 43 shots on goal all season, with the goalkeeping tandem of freshman Michael Lavric and senior Andy Ortman accounting for 12 of the team's 14 shutouts.

Beattie is one of NKU's offensive leaders. His goal against Lewis on Sept. 7 was the first of his collegiate career. Since then he's added eight more, good for second highest on the team. Sophomore Braden Bishop leads the squad with 14 tallies on the season.

Live stats for Sunday's game can be found by clicking here.