EVANS, Ga. – For the fourth time in the program's history, the Mercyhurst men's soccer team has worked its way to the NCAA Men's Soccer Final Four.  The last time the Lakers reached the Final Four was back in 2002 when they dropped a 2-1 decision against Southern New Hampshire University in the semifinals.
 
Mercyhurst is hoping the fourth time's a charm, as it competes against Lynn University on Thursday, November 29 in Evans, Georgia.  This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
 
The Lakers improved to 17-5-1 after defeating Southern New Hampshire University 2-1 on Sunday, November 18, ending the Penmen's season at19-4-0.  Mercyhurst attempted only three shots the entire match, while crashing the net twice.  Senior Austin Solomon recorded his eighth goal of the season, putting his team on the board first, and then added an assist late in the second half.  Senior Alex Manea buried his 16th goal of the season, and advanced his team to the semifinals with the game-winning goal.
 
Goalkeeper Mikko Sarkkinen is 4-0-0 this season with three of his victories coming in the NCAA playoffs.  He was pressed into service due to a late season injury to senior goalkeeper Diego Gustin.  Sarkkinen has been a brilliant last line of defense for the Lakers stopping 18 shots, allowing three goals and recording a shutout in the first round of the regional playoffs against the University of Charleston.
 
Sophomore Fernando Martinez is second on the team in points with 23 on seven goals and nine assists, and has recorded three game-winning goals.  Freshman Sten Marcson and sophomore Ryan Lund have been solid on the back line, limiting opponents to 0.83 goals-per- game while scoring three goals apiece to help the Laker offense.
 
Lynn University holds a 17-3-1 record after a 2-0 victory over Wingate in the NCAA quarterfinals. This is their second consecutive year in the NCAA Final Four and sixth appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals. They are averaging 1.90 goals per game, and a .113 shot percentage.
 
Julian Halder has nine goals and three assists to lead the Fighting Knights in points, including four game-winning goals.  Jack Winter has seven goals on the season, scoring twice against Wingate.  Goaltender Matt DiCerbo is 17-2-1, facing 110 shots and making 38 saves.  Allowing only 8 goals this season, DiCerbo has a .826 save percentage.             
 
Kickoff Thursday is set for 11:00 a.m.  The winner will move on to the National Championship on Saturday, December 1.
 
To watch the NCAA Semifinals in High-Definition or to view live stats, please visit NCAA.com.  Links will be available 10 minutes before the match, so please keep an eye out on hurstathletics.com and the men's soccer schedule page for the updated links.

For more tournament info, please click here.