No. 12 Hobart soccer can earn the second seed and a first-round bye in the Liberty League tournament Saturday, Oct. 31, if it wins at RPI and gets help from Clarkson.
The Statesmen and Engineers enter their 4 p.m. regular-season finale in Troy tied for third with 12 conference points, one behind Vassar, according to HWS Athletics.
Saturday's result will help settle the seeds
A Hobart win combined with a Vassar loss or tie against Clarkson would give the Statesmen the No. 2 seed and a bye. RPI has the same opportunity if it wins.
If Hobart and RPI draw and Vassar loses, the three teams would tie for second. Under that scenario, Vassar would take the second seed, Hobart the third and RPI the fourth.
Hobart is 10-2-3 overall and 3-2-3 in league play after a 1-1 draw with Union last Saturday. Junior Brady Leitner scored the equalizer with 42 seconds left in regulation.
RPI is 6-6-4 overall and also 3-2-3 in the conference. The Engineers lost 2-0 to Vassar on Wednesday.
Leitner leads the Statesmen's attack
Leitner has eight goals and 16 points, ranking third in the Liberty League in goals and tied for fourth in points. Junior Griffin Coutts leads Hobart with nine assists, followed by senior Quinn Phillips with six.
Junior goalkeeper Jake Hans has played most of Hobart's minutes in net. He is 9-2-3 with an .821 save percentage and a 1.02 goals-against average.
For RPI, Christopher McKinney and Justin Woodbine share the scoring lead with eight points each. Woodbine has four goals, while McKinney has three goals and two assists. Joshua Jarden leads the Engineers with four assists.
Noah Churchill has played most of RPI's minutes in goal, compiling a 6-6-4 record, a 0.82 goals-against average and a .783 save percentage.
Teams meet for the 64th time
RPI leads the series 29-28-6, while the teams are even at 15-15-3 in Troy. Hobart won last year's meeting 6-2 in Geneva, led by Phillips' goal and two assists.
Saturday's game will be played at RPI's East Campus Athletic Village Stadium. Video and live statistics will be available through RPI Athletics.
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