NJAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET

WAYNE, N.J. – Fourth-seeded William Paterson (8-8-1, 4-4-1 NJAC) will host fifth-seeded Rowan (10-7-2, 4-4-1 NJAC) in the opening round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament Saturday, Oct. 27, at 1:00 p.m. at Pioneer Soccer Park.  Live statistics will be available.

The winner will advance to the semifinal round Tuesday, Oct. 30, at top-seeded Montclair State at 7:00 p.m.  The semifinal winners will meet in the championship match Friday, Nov. 2, at the site of the highest remaining seed.  General Admission is $5.00.  Students, children 12 and under, and senior citizens will be admitted for $2.00.  The first 100 WP students with valid ID will be admitted for free, courtesy of the Division of Student Development.  No pets are allowed at any venue at any time during the course of the tournaments.

The Pioneers are 8-8-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the conference after a 4-1 victory at Kean (9-10, 4-5 NJAC) Oct. 24.  Earlier this season, WP played to a 0-0, double-overtime draw at Rowan (Sept. 29).

Sophomore back/forward Marcus Hackett (Montclair, N.J./Immaculate Conception) leads the Pioneers with 14 points on seven goals.  Senior midfielder Dan Patton (Pennsauken, N.J./Pennsauken) has tallied four goals and three assists for 11 points, and senior back Michael Encarnacion (Franklin, N.J./Passaic County Tech) has posted nine points (3 g, 3 a).  Senior forward Naeem Boucher (Paterson, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) has found the back of the net four times.

Sophomore Santiago Mesa  (Paterson, N.J./Passaic County Tech) has posted a .662 save percentage and a 1.64 goals-against average with two shutouts between the posts. 

William Paterson was 14-4-4 overall and 4-2-2 in league play last fall, reaching the NJAC Tournament semifinals and ECAC Metro Tournament championship match.

For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.wpupioneers.com, http://www.facebook.com/wpupioneers, http://www.youtube.com/thewpupioneers and http://twitter.com/wpupioneers.