SCRANTON, Pa. – Centenary College made history on Saturday afternoon, earning the Colonial States Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship for the first time with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Marywood.
 
Under the guidance of CSAC Coach of the Year Keith O'Connor, the second-seeded Cyclones also secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament and will make their first appearance since becoming an NCAA member in 1997.
 

Head Coach Keith O'Connor and Assistant Coach Josh Spivack celebrate with senior captain Reid Meeker

Centenary (12-5-3) will enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation as it is unbeaten in a school record 10-straight games (9-0-1). The Cyclones' 12 victories this fall are their highest total since 1999 when they won 14 games.
 
Freshman Luis Marin (Union City, N.J./Union Hill), an all-CSAC performer during the regular season, was named CSAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after netting the championship game's lone goal. Marin also scored the game-tying goal against Cabrini during the semifinals on Thursday.
 
Marin's score came at the 24:42 mark of the first half as he settled a pass from junior Quinn Khouri (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) and fired a shot into the far corner of the net. Marin now boasts a three-game scoring streak and owns six goals overall this fall.
 
10 minutes later, Marywood nearly tied the match, but a shot by Paul Fedorczyk hit the post.
 
During the second half, Khouri and Marin both had scoring opportunities for the Cyclones; however, their shots were turned aside by Pacer net minder Justin Sunseri. Marywood's final chance at an equalizer came in the 72^nd minute when a

shot from Daniel Hull again rang off the post.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Jesse Goleman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) stopped two shots, recording his seventh shutout. Centenary recorded 11 shots on goal, compared to just two for the Pacers, and tallied 10 of the match's 14 corner kicks.
 
Senior defender Reid Meeker (Phillipsburg, N.J./Notre Dame Green Pond) also made history on Saturday, starting in his 76^th consecutive game to tie a school record.
 
The Cyclones will learn their fate on Monday when the NCAA announces its selections and pairings live at www.ncaa.com at 1:00 pm.

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