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The #13 Rensselaer Engineers (13-2-2) vs. The #20 Eastern Connecticut State (16-4-1)

& The #6 Williams Ephs (14-2-1) vs. The Husson Eagles (10-8-2)

November 14-15, 2009

Renwyck Field • Troy, N.Y.

NCAA First/Second Round

BACK TO THE BIG SHOW: This is the sixth time in school history – and second straight season – that RPI has qualified for the NCAA Tournament … The Engineers participated in 1969, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2008 … They advanced to the second round in 1997, but lost in the first round in 1996, 1998 and 2008.

RPI IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT IN 2008: Rensselaer faced Stevens Institute of Technology in the First Round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, hosted by Babson College … The Engineers dropped a narrow 1-0 loss to the Ducks, which went on to play in the National Championship game – falling to Messiah in a 2-1 shootout victory.

RPI TO DATE: Rensselaer senior captain and midfielder Lincoln Field leads the Engineers in scoring with17 points ... He has a team-high seven goals and two assists, including four penalty kicks ... Engineers' midfielder Tom Kelly is second with a team-best seven goals and two assists for 16 points, while senior forward Sean Fleury, a forward, rounds out the top three with three goals and a team-best eight assists for 14 points ... Junior netminder Alex Penny (12-2-2; 0.54; .871) has seen the majority of time in goal this season ... He also has a Liberty League-best nine shutouts.

RENSSELAER'S COACHES: The Engineers (13-2-2; 5-1-1 Liberty League) are led by eighth-year head coach Adam Clinton ... He is a 1987 graduate of Keene State ... Clinton is assisted by former Rensselaer goaltender, Nick Bochette, who is a member of RPI's Class of 2006.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Rensselaer and Eastern Connecticut have faced one common opponent during the regular season as the Engineers defeated Keene State, 1-0 on October 14, while the Warriors dropped a 4-1 match to the Owls on September 26.

BALANCED ATTACK: The Engineers have seen a balanced attack from each end of the lineup as 19 players have at least a point ... 16 student-athletes have produced two or more points, while nine have four points or better through 16 games.

NAVIGATING THE WARRIORS: Eastern Connecticut State (14-6-1; 6-1-0 Little East) is led by third-year head coach Greg DeVito, a 1992 graduate of the University of Connecticut … DeVito is assisted by Adam Phaiah, a former standout for the Warriors, who graduated in 2005 from Eastern Connecticut State.

LEADING EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE: The Warriors are paced offensively by senior forward Maxim Fantl, who is 20th nationally with a 0.84 goals per game average … He has 17 goals and six assists for 40 points … Senior forward Nicholas Boretti is second with eight goals and four assists for 20 points … Sophomore goalie Carl Appel is 15-3 with a 0.94 goals against average and an .814 save percentage.

WARRIORS LAST NCAA APPEARANCE: Eastern Connecticut State is making its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament … The Warriors first appearance in 2007 resulted in a 2-0 first round loss to Williams, one of the four teams in this year's first/second round regional in Troy.

RPI AGAINST THE WARRIORS: Saturday's contest marks the first-ever meeting between Rensselaer and Eastern Connecticut State.

ABOUT HUSSON: Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Seth Brown, the Eagles (10-8-2; 5-0-2 NAC) are led in scoring by Mark Tombley, who has seven goals and a team-high six assists for 20 points … Tyler Metevier has a team-best eight goals with two assists for 18 points … In goal, Miguel Dominguez (4-4-1) has a 2.10 goals against average with a .723 save percentage … He also has two shutouts.

TOURNAMENT FIRSTS: Saturday marks the first appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Eagles of Husson College.

RPI VERSUS HUSSON: In its long history, Rensselaer has never faced Husson.

THE EPHS IN 2009: Williams (14-2-1; 6-2-1 NESCAC), which is guided by 30th-year head coach Mike Russo, shows Charles Romero at the top of the stat sheet with a team-high 10 goals and six assists for 26 points … Gaston Kelly is second with six goals and a team-best 13 assists for 25 points … The Ephs are backstopped by Andrew Graham (11-2-0), who has a 0.64 goals against average with a .781 save percentage.

WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE: This weekend's action marks the 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Williams College … Since 1993, the Ephs have been to Nationals 14 times, winning the title in 1995 (17-0-2) … All-time in tournament play, Williams is 26-11-6.

RPI ALL-TIME AGAINST THE EPHS: The two teams have met 17 times in their history, dating back to the first meeting on October 19, 1940 – a 2-1 loss in Williamstown … The Ephs hold the series lead, 11-6-0, including a 8-1-1 advantage in the last 10 meetings … Rensselaer led the series 5-3-0 from 1940 through 1950 … The teams did not play one another between 1951 and 1982.

THE 19-YEAR GAP: Despite playing 17 times in their history, RPI and Williams have not faced one another since a 5-0 Ephs victory in Williamstown on September 18, 1990.

HOW THEY GOT TO TROY: Eastern Connecticut State advanced to the NCAA Tournament after dominating the Little East Conference Tournament, posting back-to-back shutouts, including a 1-0 blanking of UMass-Dartmouth in the championship game … Husson is making its first trip to the National Tournament after capturing the North Atlantic Conference title and an automatic bid with a 3-1 victory over Castleton State, while Williams claimed the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship … The Ephs defeated Middlebury, the 2007 NCAA Champion, by a 2-1 margin … Host Rensselaer is making its sixth appearance after receiving an at-large bid.