USJ Clinches Top Seed for 2024 Tournament; Playoff Seedings Announced
Tournament Info
WINTHROP, Mass. – After a wild final day of conference play with tie-breakers determining seedings, the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) looks to re-claim their spot at the top in postseason play as the Blue Jays clinched the top seed in this year’s Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament. USJ looks to claim the GNAC trophy for the second time in three years, last winning in the 2022 season.
The Blue Jays completed the regular season posting a 10-1-3 GNAC record [33 points], finishing 11-4-3 overall.
Right behind them is No. 2 seed Albertus Magnus, who sealed the deal with a 2-0 road victory over Dean. The Falcons also finished with a 10-1-3 conference record for 33 points (10-4-4 overall) as they look to claim a spot in the title game for the first time since 2015.
Reigning champion Johnson & Wales looks to repeat as they had a three-way tie to end the regular season, going 10-1-3 as well in conference play (13-2-3 overall). Since all three teams had tied, the league’s tiebreaking procedure had to be in effect to separate the three.
The Blue Jays earned the first seed after posting a 1-0-1 record, defeating the Wildcats and Albertus Magnus tied both USJ and JWU, going 0-0-2 and earning the second spot, leaving Johnson & Wales to become the third seed.
Emmanuel earned the four seed with 29 points after going 9-3-2 in conference play (10-5-2 overall). The Saints will round out the top four institutions hosting.
Earning the No. 5 seed is Saint Joseph’s (Maine) after they finished 8-5-1 in GNAC play [25 points] and finishing 8-8-2 overall. Anna Maria had a regular season to remember, clinching their first GNAC playoff berth in the program’s history. They earn the no. 6 seed after finishing GNAC play with 23 points at 7-5-2 in conference (9-6-2 overall).
Fighting for the quarterfinal spots in the play-in round are seven seed River, eight seed Norwich, No. 9 Regis, and clinching the final spot in a victory over Elms is Lasell. Rivier [20 points] will host Lasell [16 points] while Norwich [18 points] will host Regis [17 points] to determine the final eight spots for the quarterfinals. Both play-in games will play on Thursday, Oct. 31.
The GNAC Quarterfinals start on Saturday (Nov. 2) with the eight teams going head-to-head. The winners will advance to play in the GNAC Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 6 with the prevailing teams competing for the GNAC Championship on Saturday, Nov. 9. The winner of the GNAC Championship match will be named the 2024 GNAC Men's Soccer Champion and earn the conference's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
2024 GNAC Men's Soccer Tournament Schedule
Play-In – Thursday, Oct. 31
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#7 Rivier vs. #10 Lasell, 7 pm (Game 1)
#8 Norwich vs. #9 Regis, 3 pm (Game 2)
Quarterfinals – Saturday, Nov. 2
(Hosted by higher seeds)
#1 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) vs. #8/9 Winner, 1 pm (Game 3)
#2 Albertus Magnus vs. #7/10 Winner, 1 pm (Game 4)
#3 Johnson & Wales vs. #6 Anna Maria, 2:30 pm (Game 5)
#4 Emmanuel vs. #5 Saint Joseph's (Maine), 12pm (Game 6)
Semifinals – Wednesday, Nov. 6
(Hosted by higher seeds)
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 6, TBD (Game 7)
Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, TBD (Game 8)
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 9
(Hosted by highest remaining seed)
Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, TBD (Game 9)
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
Stay up to date with all the latest news from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC)!
'Follow' us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, and 'Like' us on Facebook!
-#TheGNAC-