NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark hosts St. Joseph's LI in the opening round of the ECAC Metro Men's Soccer Championship Wednesday night on Alumni Field.

2011 ECAC Metro D-III Men's Soccer Championship Bracket (PDF)

The fourth-seeded Scarlet Raiders (11-8-2), who will be making their unprecedented fourth consecutive appearance in the post-season playoff, take on the Golden Eagles (13-8-0) of the Skyline Conference at 7:30 p.m.

New Jersey Athletic Conference foe Richard Stockton (11-6-4) hosts Sage (11-7-1), another Skyline Conference squad, in the other opening round contest in Galloway, NJ.

Drew University (15-3-1) drew the top seed and will host the semifinals and finals in Madison on Saturday and Sunday.  William Paterson (13-4-3) garnered the second seed and a first-round bye in the six-team bracket.

Should the Raiders advance with a win on Wednesday, they would take on Drew at 1 p.m.  on Saturday.  William Paterson would play the winner of the Sage – Richard Stockton match at 3:30 in Ranger Stadium.  The title game is set for 1 o'clock on Sunday.

Rutgers-Newark shut out the Golden Eagles, 3-0, on September 14 on Long Island to cap a 5-1 start to the season.

The Raiders fell to Richard Stockton, 2-1, in Galloway in NJAC play in the final match of the regular season. 

William Paterson and Rutgers-Newark have played into overtime twice this season on Alumni Field.  After the teams battled to a 1-1 double-overtime stalemate in NJAC play in Newark on October 22, the Pioneers edged the Raiders, 2-1 in overtime, in the opening round of the conference championship tournament on October 31.

The Raiders did not play Drew during the regular season, but the Rangers claimed the 2011 Scarlet Raider Soccer Classic crown on Alumni Field in early September.  Rutgers-Newark fell to Drew, 3-0, in the ECAC Metro-Upstate NY Championship semifinals in Madison last November.

Rutgers-Newark also has ECAC history with William Paterson, losing to the Pioneers in a shootout round in the 2008 title match.