The University of Rochester will compete in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships for the seventh time in the last eight years when the Yellowjackets take the field Saturday in Pennsylvania.
 
Rochester will play Misericordia University in the first game of a doubleheader at Susquehanna University. The second game of the twinbill pairs Susquehanna against Cabrini University.
 
The Yellowjackets are one of five teams from the University Athletic Association to receive an NCAA playoff bid. Rochester was 10-3-3 this year, 3-1-3 in the UAA. The Yellowjackets finished fifth in the UAA standings. Four teams – Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis, Emory, and Washington – all tied for first place with 13 points each. Rochester had 12 points. Carnegie Mellon won a tiebreaker to secure the automatic bid. Rochester defeated the Tartans, 3-2, in overtime in Pittsburgh in mid-October.
 
Misericordia earned a Pool A (automatic) bid to the tournament by virtue of winning the MAC Freedom Conference championship. Misericordia defeated King's (PA) College, 2-0, in the semifinals, and FDU-Florham, 3-1, in the championship game. It was the second straight Freedom Conference title for the Cougars and their fourth in five years in the league (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012). Misericordia is 13-6-2 heading into Saturday's NCAA match.
 
Senior Andy Bush leads Misericordia in scoring with 15 goals and three assists for 33 points. He has six gamewinning goals this season. Sophomore Nick vonEgypt is second in scoring with five goals and five assists for 15 points.
 
The goalkeeping is split three ways. Junior Billy Sopko started seven matches, logging 657:58. He allowed six goals (0.82 GAA), made 29 saves, had two shutouts, and a 5-1-1 record. Freshman Barry Fitzgerald played in nine matches (six starts), logging 7;15.15. he allowed nine goals (1.13 GAA), made 38 saves, had one shutout, and was 4-1-1.  Senior Dan Fritz appeared in eight matches (five starts), playing 540:01. He allowed eight goals (1.33 GAA), had 18 saves, one shutout, and a 3-3 record.
 
Chuck Edkins is wrapping up his 21^st year as the head coach. He has a career record of 248-142-30 going into NCAAs. Edkins won three Pennsylvania Athletic Conference titles with Misericordia before the institution moved to the Freedom Conference. This is his sixth NCAA playoff appearance – five as a Freedom Conference school, one as a PAC school (2000).
 
Rochester was 5-1-3 in its last nine matches. The Yellowjakets tied #10 Brandeis and #6 NYU, then beat #5 Carnegie Mellon (3-2). The loss came against Washington University, 1-0, eleven days ago. All three of Rochester's losses came at home
 
The defense posted eight shutouts, seven by senior goalkeeper Scott Garfing. In 15 starts, he played 1,416:42. He allowed 11 goals (0.70 GAA), made 54 saves, and had a 9-3-3 record. He had seven shutouts and shared one. In six other games, the opposition scored one goal.
 
Sophomores Jack Thesing and Alex Swanger topped the scoring chart. Thesing had nine goals and two assists for 20 points. Swanger had five goals and six assists for 16 points.
 
This is the third NCAA playoff appearance for the senior class. As freshmen in 2009, they helped Rochester advance to the Elite 8 at Messiah College. That is the farthest Rochester has ever advanced in NCAA play.  This is Rochester's 14^th NCAA playoff appearance, a run that started in 1986.
 
Head coach Chris Apple, a 1992 graduate, has a record of 152-40-31 at Rochester in 12 years (counting 2012). His overall record for 15 seasons is 171-67-34.