ODU Hosts C-USA Tournament

November 9, 2014

SOCCER MONARCHS FOURTH SEED IN UPCOMING C-USA TOURNAMENT

NORFOLK, VA-- Old Dominion will host the top seven finishers in the regular season standings for 2014 C-USA Men’s Soccer Championship, Nov. 12-16 at the Old Dominion Soccer Complex in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Monarchs (9-6-1/4-3-1) will play Wednesday night at 7 p.m. as the fourth seed against fifth seed and 25^th ranked New Mexico (11-5-1/4-4) who advanced to the NCAA National semifinals a year ago.

This year's tournament begins Wednesday, Nov. 12, with quarterfinal matches at 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

The tournament field will consist of No. 5, Charlotte, No. 13 Kentucky, No. 22 UAB, No. 25 New Mexico, ODU, Marshall and South Carolina. Tickets for the tournament are: $20 for adult, and $ 10 for youth. Single game tickets are: $10 for adults, $5 for youth, and $3 for groups of 10 or more. Admission is free for all C-USA students with a valid school ID.

Defending champion and No. 5-ranked Charlotte is the top seed in the 2014 Conference USA Men's Soccer Championship and receives a first-round bye after winning the C-USA regular-season title Friday night. The 49ers (14-2-1, 6-1-1 C-USA) topped the league standings with 19 points to claim their second C-USA regular-season title and first outright after sharing the 1996 crown with USF. By earning the top seed, Charlotte garners the only bye of the championship, advancing directly to the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 14.

Wednesday's quarterfinals kick off at 2 p.m. EST when No. 2 seed Kentucky (10-4-4, 5-1-2 C-USA) takes on No. 7 seed South Carolina (8-9-0, 3-5-0 C-USA). The Gamecocks have won two tournament titles, 2005 and 2010, since joining the league in 2005. The 13th-ranked Wildcats won this year's regular-season matchup in a wild 4-3 double-overtime victory at South Carolina. Sophomore midfielder Napo Matsoso paced Kentucky as he recorded a natural hat trick. Redshirt freshman forward Mikkel Knudsen registered a pair of goals for the Gamecocks.

No. 3 UAB (10-6-1, 5-3-0 C-USA) and No. 6 Marshall (7-8-3, 3-4-1 C-USA) are set to battle at 4:30 p.m. EST in the second quarterfinal. The Blazers boast the 1999 C-USA Championship on their resume. The teams last squared off on Oct. 18 when five different players found the net for UAB in a 7-2 rout of Marshall. Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Freddy Ruiz and sophomore Rami Dajani each netted a pair of Blazer goals. Sophomore James Nanje Ngoe also factored in multiple goals for UAB, collecting a goal and a helper. Herd junior Jack Hopkins accounted for both Marshall tallies.

Host Old Dominion, the No. 4 seed, will close out quarterfinal action with a 7 p.m. showdown against No. 5 New Mexico , who is ranked No. 25 nationally. Both teams are in their second year as members of C-USA, with the Lobos winning the 2013 regular-season championship. New Mexico defeated ODU 4-0 back on Oct. 25.

All three first-round games and both semifinal matches will be streamed on the C-USA Digital Network. The 2014 C-USA Championship match will be broadcast on Fox Sports Network on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. ET.

2014 CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals - Wednesday, Nov. 12
Match 1 - (2) Kentucky vs. (7) South Carolina - 2 p.m.
Match 2 - (3) UAB vs. (6) Marshall - 4:30 p.m.
Match 3 - (4) Old Dominion vs. (5) New Mexico - 7 p.m.

Semifinals - Friday, Nov. 14
Match 4 - Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner - 4:30 p.m.
Match 5 - (1) Charlotte vs. Match 3 Winner - 7 p.m.

Final - Sunday, Nov. 16
Match 6 - Semifinal Winners - 2 p.m. (FOX Sports Network)

All times are Eastern
All matches are played at the ODU Soccer Complex in Norfolk, Virginia