Cortland to Host NCAA Men’s Soccer Four-Team Regional Saturday and Sunday
Cortland Sports Information Department
The Cortland men's soccer team has earned a berth into the 64-team NCAA Division III playoffs and will host a four-team regional on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-16. The Red Dragons (12-1-5) will face SUNY-Delhi (12-3-5) in the first round on Saturday at 11 a.m., with the other first-round contest featuring Catholic (13-0-6) and Amherst (8-5-3) at 1:30 p.m.
The winners of Saturday's first-round games will face off on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. All three contests this weekend will be played on artificial turf at Grady Field due to anticipated weather conditions.
The Red Dragons are making their 27th national tournament appearance all-time, and fifth straight tournament appearance under head coach Steve Axtell. Cortland earned an NCAA berth as one of 21 at-large teams in the field. Cortland played to a 1-1 tie against Messiah in the first round of last year's national tournament, with the Falcons advancing on penalty kicks, 4-3.
The winner of Sunday's regional final will advance to a four-team sectional on Nov. 22-23 at a site to be determined. The NCAA semifinals and finals will be held Friday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 7 in Salem, Va.
Under Axtell, Cortland advanced to the NCAA "Sweet 16" in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2016 and 2014, tying for ninth nationally in those seasons. The Red Dragons won their tournament opener in 2017 and tied for 17th place. Overall, Cortland has nine top-five national finishes, including a second-place showing in 1977, a third-place finish in 1978 and a tie for third in 1982. Three of Cortland's previous NCAA tournament appearances came as a Division I program in 1960, 1964 and 1966 prior to the advent of Division III.
Cortland led in scoring by senior Josh Carroll (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue), who has 11 goals and three assists for 25 points. Carroll also scored Cortland's lone goal against Messiah last season, and also netted his spot kick in the penalty shootout. Freshmen Owen Brant (Loudonville/Shaker) and Jake Hutter (Smithtown/Smithtown West) each have nine points, with Brant scoring three times and adding three assists, and Hutter having four goals and one assist. Senior goalkeeper Jordan Ott (Fort Worth, TX/Southwest Christian) has started all 18 games, with a 0.44 GAA, a .901 save percentage, and 12 shutouts.
Delhi earned an NCAA automatic berth after winning the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) with a 3-2 victory over Thomas (Maine) in the conference championship game. The Broncos are making their first NCAA tournament appearance, and enter the weekend with 11 straight victories and unbeaten in their last 14 games.
Catholic claimed the Landmark Conference title with a 1-0 victory over Drew in the championship game. The Cardinals are making their sixth consecutive national tournament appearance, and are one of eight teams in Division III without a loss on the season. Amherst has reached the national championship game in four of the past five seasons, including claiming the national title in 2024. The Mammoths earned an at-large berth into the national tournament this year after falling to Wesleyan (Conn.) by a 3-2 score in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) quarterfinals.
Cortland and Delhi will be meeting for the second time all-time, with Cortland claiming a 3-0 road win over the Broncos during the 2024 season. Amherst and Catholic with be squaring off for the first time in program history.
