ORLANDO--The pairings are set for the 2009 Sunshine State Conference Men's Soccer Championship and the Barry Buccaneers earned the right to host a first-round game at Buccaneer Field on Tuesday, Nov. 3 by finishing tied for third.
The top six teams, based on points accumulated in SSC play, earn bids to the championship, and the top two seeds receive byes for quarterfinal action.
The Bucs, who received the fourth seed based on the tie-breaker with Lynn, will host the fifth-seeded Florida Tech Panthers at 7:00 pm on Tuesday. The #3 Knights will host #6 Nova Southeastern at 3:00 pm. The Panthers earned the fifth seed by tie-breaker over the Sharks.
Rollins (16-1-1) and Tampa (14-1-1) emerged as regular-season co-champions with a 7-1 conference record and 21 points. The Tars defeated Tampa 3-2 in the teams' regular-season meeting to earn the No. 1 seed. Nevertheless, SSC Soccer Championship rules state that the same school cannot host the semifinals and final for both the men's and women's championship. The rules further state that, in odd years, the top women's seed will host the semifinals and final, while the second highest men's seed will host the men's contests. By virtue of the fact that Rollins clinched the women's title and earned the No. 1 seed, the Tar women will host the semifinals and final, while the Tar men will travel to Tampa.
Lynn and Barry finished regular-season play with identical 5-3 SSC records. The Fighting Knights earned the higher seed by defeating Barry 3-1 in the teams' match-up. Florida Tech and Nova Southeastern also tied in the final standings with a 3-5 mark. The Panthers received the higher seed by downing the Sharks 2-0 in regular-season action.
The winner of the tilt between Lynn and Nova Southeastern will face off with No. 2 Tampa in Friday's semifinals. Top-seeded Rollins awaits the winner of the Barry versus Florida Tech contest in the other semifinal.
2009 SSC MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, November 3
#6 Nova Southeastern at #3 Lynn, 3 p.m.
#5 Florida Tech at #4 Barry, 7 p.m.
Semifinals - Friday, November 6 (hosted by the University of Tampa)
No. 4-5 Winner vs. #1 Rollins, 4:30 p.m.
No. 3-6 Winner at #2 Tampa, 7 p.m.
Final - Sunday, November 8 (hosted by the University of Tampa)
Semifinal Winners, 1 p.m.
