Charleston, W.Va. - The Adelphi University men's soccer team's journey in the NCAA Division II Championship continues on Thursday night, as the Panthers take on the LIU Post Pioneers in the third round of this year's national bracket.

The game is being played at Schoenbaum Field at Coonskin Park, the home field for the Charleston (W.Va.) Golden Eagles, who will face the West Chester (Pa.) Golden Rams in Thursday's 4 p.m. Atlantic Region final to face the winner of the Long Island clash in the national quarterfinals. The last eight game will be played on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the winner assured a place in the national semifinals in Kansas City, Mo. on Nov. 30. 

The Panthers and Pioneers will do battle for the East Region title for the second straight year. A season ago, the second-seeded Panthers traveled down the road from their Garden City campus to Pioneer Soccer Park, and won the regional title by a 4-0 final. Federico De Oliveira and Florent Girardin scored for the Panthers in the contest, along with the now-graduated Alejandro Penzini and Jordan Daniel.

Last time out, Adelphi trailed as late as the 89th minute before Andre De Giorgi kept his team's season alive with the game-tying goal against Goldey-Beacom College, the sixth-seeded team in the East, before Joey Sanchez scored the game-winner in double overtime on Motamed Field to send the Panthers into the next round in West Virginia.  

Scouting the Panthers
Record: 14-2-2
Last Time Out: def. Goldey-Beacom, 2-1 (2OT, NCAA Second Round)
Postseason: NE10 Regular Season Champions, NE10 Quarterfinals
Key Players: Leading Scorer - Andre De Giorgi, 12G | Joseph Sanchez - 6G and 3A | Toni Soler - NE10 Player of the Year (4G, 4A) | GK - Raymond Leto, 9-2-2, 45 Saves, 3 Shutouts

Scouting the Pioneers
Record: 17-0-2
Last Time Out: def. Univ. of the District of Columbia, 2-1 (NCAA Second Round)
Postseason: ECC Regular Season and Tournament Champions
Key Players: Leading Scorer - Lukas Ostermann, 17G and 40 pts | Charlie Ledula - 13G, 1A | Harry Pearse - 5G, 11A | GK - Oliver Hessner Hansen, 14-0-2, 7 Shutouts

The Panthers and Pioneers faced off in Garden City on Aug. 31, in the first game for both teams in the 2017 season. The two clubs played to a 3-3 draw, in a game in which Adelphi held a 1-0 halftime lead only to see both teams score five combined goals in the second half. James Thristino scored in the sixth minute for the Brown and Gold in that contest, before Ostermann scored and later assisted on Charlie Ledula's goal to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead early in the second half.

De Giorgi headed home a free kick to tie the game at 2-2, before John Stojcevski and Morten Wenaas traded penalty kicks in the late minutes en route to a double-overtime draw. The two teams each took 19 shots in the contest, while Leto made seven saves for Adelphi. 

Both live stats and a live broadcast courtesy of Charleston Athletics will be available. Fans can follow live stats here and watch the live broadcast of Saturday's contest here.

---

About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past eight seasons, has collected 25 regular season conference titles, 26 tournament championships, 33 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), while winning six NCAA Division II National Championships.

For the latest on Adelphi University Athletics, follow the Panthers at www.aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.