LAKEWOOD, NJ (Nov. 8, 2023) - Georgian Court Men's Soccer, fresh off of a thrilling quarterfinal round win, prepares for this weekend's CACC Tournament semifinal round.

Opponent
Bridgeport Purple Knights (10-5-2, 7-3-1 CACC)

Where
Bridgeport, Conn. - Knight's Field

When
Friday, Nov. 10, 2023 - 7 p.m.

How to Watch
• Friday's match is available to watch via a pay to view broadcast on the Georgian Court portal of the CACC Digital Network powered by HUDL. Links for videos and live stats can be found above and on the Lions Soccer schedule page.

Previously vs. Bridgeport
• Bridgeport is just in their second season as a member of the CACC.
• In their first meeting as conference foes last year, the Lions won 2-1 at home behind goals from Francisco Corral and Jay Abraham.
• The first ever meeting between these two came in 2021, which was a 2-2 draw in Bridgeport.
• Earlier this season, the Lions had one of the most dramatic wins in program history. 
• Trailing 1-0 after a first-half goal, the Lions got the equalizer from Gijs Van Eif.
• With less than 30 seconds to play, the Lions held possession in the offensive zone. Van Eif passed to Maurice Engl who's pushed the ball low to the far corner and tucked it just inside the post and out of reach from the diving goaltender to score the game-winner. 

Last Time Out
• Georgian Court and Felician played a CACC Classic in the quarterfinal round.
• GCU took a 2-0 lead getting first-half goals from Mathias Madersbacher and Sebastian Derflinger.
• The Golden Falcons tied the game though with two goals in the final 15 minutes, the equalizer on a penalty kick.
• The teams played two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods meaning the advancing team would come from penalty kicks.
• Through the standard five rounds, each team went 4-5, setting up a kick-for-kick to determine the winner.
• Both hit on their first attempt, but Fabio Krissler stopped Felician on their seventh and freshman Tim Wilk hit for the Lions to send them to the CACC Semifinals. 

Who's Hot?
• Mathias Madersbacher leads the team in points (17) and shots (50). He scored the Lions first goal in the quarterfinals. 
• Fabio Krissler has allowed just nine goals in his last 775 minutes with 49 saves. 
• The Lion defense which has allowed just nine goals in the last nine matches. 
• Sebastian Derflinger scored on a free kick for GCU against Felician.

CACC Leaders
• Mathias Madersbacher is 10th in the conference in total goals and points. 
• Fabio Krissler has 71 saves which is sixth in the league. He's also third with a .763 save percentage and fifth with a 1.42 goals against average.
• In conference-only games, the Lions 1.27 goals against average ranks fourth.
• GCU is in the middle of the pack with 12.9 fouls per game.

Individual Milestones
• Mathias Madersbacher is tied for fourth all-time at GCU in goals and one more will give him sole possession. His next game will also be the 50th of his career. 
• Cherif Tammar and Gijs Van Eif need one point to get to 10. 
• With 62 more minutes played Sam Thombs will get to 4000 in his career. 
• Maurice Engl's next game will be his 40th. 

All-Conference
• Mathias Madersbacher was the lone representative for the Lions on the All-CACC Second Team.
• Madersbacher is the 10th Lion to make the All-Conference team, first since 2021.

CACC Tournament
• The biggest difference entering the postseason is the presence of overtime. If the two teams are tied after 90 minutes, there will be two 10-minute overtime periods played to completion. If the game is still tied, the match will go to penalty kicks. 
• The winner of the CACC Tournament will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA East Regional Tournament.  
• The Lions have won one CACC Tournament championship. That came in 2016.
• All-time in CACC Tournament games, the Lions are 5-5-3 and in semifinal round games GCU is 2-2. 
• This is the first ever matchup between the Lions and Bridgeport in the postseason. 

About Bridgeport
• Bridgeport finished third in the CACC at 7-3-1 and were 9-6-3 overall. 
• While Bridgeport is the host for the CACC semifinals and finals, the Purple Knights are just 4-4 on Knights Field this season. 
• Bridgeport is the most accurate team shooting the ball. Their .550 shot-on-goal percentage leads the league.
• The Purple Knights also scored the most goals during conference play, finding the back of the net 30 times. 
• In 18 games, Bridgeport has allowed just 31 goals this season, but their .640 save percentage is towards the bottom of the CACC.
• Starter Hugo Franceschi has taken over in goal with a .691 save percentage and a 9-4-3 record.
• The Purple Knights had four make the All-CACC Team with Max Kissel and Lucas Sousa on the First Team and Hugo Francechi and Noah Bolivard on the Second Team. 
• After the loss to the Lions, Bridgeport has since scored 15 goals, including eight in their 8-2 win over Caldwell in the CACC quarterfinals. 
• Max Kissel leads all of Division II having scored 21 goals this season with five coming against Caldwell. 
• Lucas Sousa has 17 points with five goals and seven assists. 
• Bridgeport has just 21 yellow cards in conference games this season, second-fewest in the league. They are however near the bottom committing 14.5 fouls per game.