What to know about the DII men’s soccer semifinals

Just three matches remain in the 2023 DII men’s soccer championship. Franklin Pierce is still in the hunt, looking to become the first repeat champion since Southern Connecticut State did it in 1998-99, a feat accomplished just twice in the history of the sport. Two of the three schools remaining are looking to make program history by winning their first DII men’s soccer national championship ever.

Here’s a look at the four teams still alive in the national semifinals that move to the neutral site of Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, NC on Dec. 7.

TOURNEY TIME

What to know about the DII men’s soccer championship semifinalists

No. 1 Franklin Pierce

Oct. 23, 2001. That was the last time the Ravens lost. Franklin Pierce was eliminated from the 2021 DII men’s soccer championship on penalty kicks, but the last time someone flat-out beat the defending national champions was more than two calendar years ago. 

The Ravens come into the semifinals sitting at 19-0-2. They entered the tournament with the fourth-best scoring offense in DII men’s soccer, the third-most assists per game, the third-most points per game, and the fourth-best scoring differential. But Franklin Pierce is not all offense: The Ravens have not allowed a goal thus far in the postseason, defeating Bloomsburg 3-0, Post 3-0, and Gannon 1-0. Right now, defenses may want to focus on Aaron Sanchez Sanchez who has three goals in the past two games, including the game-winner versus Gannon. Younes Addar Khanoussi has the most goals  (19) of any player remaining in the tournament, so there’s another player defenses have to contend with. What’s the best way to beat Franklin Pierce? Well, we’ll let you know when it happens. 

As a reminder, as pointed out in the DII men’s soccer championship preview, the winner of Super Region 1 has reached the championship match in each of the past six seasons. That bodes well for a team that hasn’t lost in two years. 

No. 2 Florida Tech

The Panthers are going to party like it’s 1993. That was the last time Florida Tech made it this far in the tournament. The Panthers are making their fifth trip to the national semifinals and looking for its third national championship, having won it in 1988 and 1991.

It has not been an easy road to get here. The Panthers went to overtime to defeat Lynn 2-1 in their first match of the tournament, defeated West Florida in penalty kicks, and once again went to overtime with Limestone, defeating the Saints 3-2 to win Super Region 2. Here’s a fun little fact: defender Sjur Drechsler scored a big goal in the victory over Limestone — the school he began his collegiate career at and earned First-Team All-SAC honors as a freshman as the leader of the conference’s best defense. Drechsler has a mere four goals this season, half of which have come in the Panthers’ last two wins. 

No. 3 CSU Pueblo

The ThunderWolves are back in the national semifinals after their 2022 national runners-up campaign, this time looking to finish the job. It is just their second trip to the semifinals, so there is certainly something special brewing in Colorado.

It was no easy trip to North Carolina for CSU Pueblo. Earning the No. 4 seed, the ThunderWolves narrowly defeated No. 5 Chico State 2-1, before a huge upset over No. 1 Midwestern State 1-0, followed up by another massive upset over No. 2 Cal State LA, advancing to the semifinals on PKs. The Thunderwolves, who were the kings of the West a year ago, have now advanced as the No. 3 and the No. 4 seed, which is quite impressive. Gabriel Campora was one of our five goal-scorers to watch in the playoffs, and he certainly delivered with one of the penalty kicks that helped CSU Pueblo get back to the big match.

No. 4 Lewis

The Flyers are the lowest advancing seed to the semifinals, winning Super Region 3 as the No. 7 seed. Lewis enters the semifinals — the third trip in program history — at 13-3-6, which is its most wins in a decade. 

Every match to the semifinals was tightly contested. Being the lowest seed of the final four teams standing, Lewis has also played more DII tournament matches than any remaining team. They narrowly eked by Purdue Northwest 1-0 with a goal in the 77th minute from Christian Perez. They then upset No. 2 Illinois Springfield in penalty kicks before Perez played the hero once again — scoring in the 82nd minute to upset No. 3 UIndy, 2-1. While Perez was kept out of the net in the Super Region 3 championship match, it was Arturs Gorodnickis who scored two goals, including what held to be the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over Maryville. Lewis enters the semifinals with the fewest goals per game allowed, so the play of that stout defense and goalkeeper Sebastian Doppelhofer (0.59 goals allowed per game, 84.9 save percentage) will be pivotal against Franklin Pierce — the highest-scoring team left standing.