KEENE, N.H. - Keene State College has been selected to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Div. 3 Men's Soccer Tournament this weekend at the Owl Athletic Complex. 

On Saturday, Keene State will face York College of New York at 11 a.m., while Williams College will take on Eastern Conn. in the nightcap at 2:30 p.m. The two winners will meet on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Keene State (14-4-5) will be making its ninth trip to the NCAA Division III tournament in the past 11 years. The Owls earned an at-large bid to the championship after battling Eastern Conn. to a 0-0 tie and losing 3-2 in penalty kicks in the Little East Championship game on Sunday.

KSC Coach Ron Butcher said the teams’ strong out of conference schedule had a major bearing on the Owls’ NCAA invitation. “Whenever you don’t get the automatic qualifier, you have to worry,” he said, “But we had a lot of things working in our favor.”

In addition to posting key wins over national powers Middlebury and Williams, KSC also had victory over Western New England and a tie against Wheaton College, both NCAA participants. It didn’t hut that the Owls went 9-0-3 down the stretch.

However, there still was some suspense when several team members gathered to watch the selection show.

“I was so nervous, I couldn’t go to class this morning,” said junior forward Alex Horne. “We were all pretty excited. We’re so happy that we were given this bid. We deserve it.”

“My heart was jumping,” said senior goalie Cal Mintz. “I didn’t want the game against Eastern Conn. to be my last. Now we have another chance.”

“We’ve had our ups and downs this year with this team,” said Butcher. “ It hasn’t been pretty at times, but this team has found a way to win.”

KSC, which have received three at-large bids, will be looking to get beyond the second round. Williams has been the road block for the Owls over the years. After winning a first-round game against Lasell (2-0) last season, KSC were shutout by the Ephs 3-0 in Williamstown.

York College (14-5-1) is making its third appearance in the tournament. The Cardinals, who defeated College of Staten Island 3-0 in the CUNYAC finals, also earned bids in 2000 and 2001. York has just two seniors on its roster.

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