MILWAUKEE – The MSOE men's soccer team punched their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon, as the Raiders bested the Spartans of Aurora University by a final score of 2-1 as the Red and White were crowned the 2024 NACC Champions.

No. 3 MSOE RAIDERS – 2

No. 4 Aurora - 1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MSOE (12-3-6, 8-2-2 NACC) and Aurora (11-6-4, 8-2-2 NACC) went up-and-down the pitch trying to establish the attack in the opening minutes of the contest before the Raiders took the first lead of the game on a sliding bicycle kick from the red-hot Danny Aranda off an assist from teammate Nico Picha.  Aurora nearly had an equalizing goal down the stretch of the first half, but the Spartans offense was offside as MSOE held on to the momentum in the final minutes of the half.  Picha and Owen Gendrich nearly connected on a corner kick play as the first half came to a close, but the Raiders would settle for hanging on to the 1-0 lead at the half.
• In the second half, the Spartans needed just a minute to tie the game up, taking advantage of chaos inside the box to sneak a goal past the rock-solid Asher Harris, who's aggressive play helped stave off any Aurora chances before they started.  The Red and White would regain the lead at the 53:29 mark, with Tanner Cellio and Picha going back-and-forth before Cellio found the back of the net to a deafening cheer from the Viets Field crowd.  The Raiders defense would stand strong down the stretch, as Steven Arthur and Ian Frost smothered the Spartans offense in the final minutes of the game.  As the scoreboard's final horn sounded, the Raiders were crowned the 2024 NACC champions after besting Illinois Tech, Dominican and Aurora on the way to the crown.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Shots on Goal – Danny Aranda (3)
Goals – Danny Aranda and Tanner Cellio (1)
Assists – Nico Picha (2)
Saves – Asher Harris (1)
 
WORDS FROM THE RAIDERS
"Depth and resilience is how this team got here.  The next guy just kept stepping up and stepping up and stepping up. In the semi-final 15 minutes before the start of the game, one of our guys gets hurt and can't start, but the next man came in and started and it was like that the whole season.  Guys stepping in and never missing a beat, it's a testament to the guys and how they play," said Head Coach Rob Harrington. "We played the toughest schedule we've ever played, and showed we can compete with anyone in the country. Now we need to go prove it in the NCAA Tournament."

"I'm excited, ready to get on to the NCAA Tournament.  We really stuck together throughout the NACC tournament. We had some trouble scoring during the regular season but we just work really hard every day, going to practice, and we stuck through it." – Junior Danny Aranda

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders await the NCAA Tournament seeding to be announced on Monday, November 11^th as the Red and White gear up for their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2015.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at MSOERaiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.