Men's soccer can clinch playoff berth

Barring a twist of circumstances perhaps only Rod Serling could write, the men's soccer team will be headed to the Atlantic 10 Championship in Kingston, R.I. next week for the first time since 1999.Coach Mel Mahler said there is a very low chance the Bonnies, currently tied for third in the A-10, won't qualify, but it's best to play it safe when it comes to the final two games of the season against Duquesne and Dayton this weekend.

"I feel that we'd probably, in the worst case, be a number six seed, but you just never know," Mahler said. "Every which way we look at it; it comes up where we're in . but it's always safe to still play it out and see what happens."

Senior forward Sam Maheu said even though the team hasn't officially clinched a spot, doing so would fulfill one of his main career goals.

"It's my first time in four years, so we're pretty happy," Maheu said. "Our senior class was (Mahler's) first recruiting class, so that was the plan when he recruited us, just to make A-10 and be successful, so obviously we're really happy to be here."

The only way the Bonnies will not qualify for the postseason is if they lose their last two games and a have a number of other teams either split or win both of their last two games.

Only two teams, Dayton (6-1 A-10) and Fordham (5-1-2 A-10), have clinched A-10 tournament berths so far, but none of the six seeds have been set. The first and second seeds receive a first-round bye in the tournament.

Mahler said the Bonnies could still finish anywhere in the top six.

"We want to get the best seed possible," Mahler said. "I wouldn't say we've accomplished our goal, but we're in the process of it."

The Bonnies (9-6, 5-2 A-10) are currently tied with Saint Louis for third with 15 points. Charlotte (4-1-2 A-10) is fifth with 14 points, Rhode Island (4-3 A-10) is sixth with 12 points and Temple (3-3-1 A-10) is seventh with 10 points. Duquesne (8-7-2, 3-4-1 A-10) also has 10 points, but only one game remaining.

The Bonnies are in Pittsburgh today for a 5 p.m. game against Duquesne. The Dukes have an outside chance of qualifying and would need a win over the Bonnies today along with help from several other teams.

Mahler said the Bonnies need to focus against Duquesne, which is fighting for its postseason hopes today and also honoring its seniors.

"It's their last game of the year (and) senior day. That type of emotional environment we're stepping into brings a lot of intangibles in (Duquesne's) favor," Mahler said. "Our goal is to go in there and really stay within our game plan and really focus on those things that we do well, and I think if we do that, it's a good matchup."

The Bonnies return home for Sunday's regular season finale against first-place Dayton at 1 p.m., a game rescheduled due to snowstorms three weeks ago.

Two road wins last weekend allowed the Bonnies to all but lock up an A-10 berth.

On Friday against Rhode Island, Maheu scored his career-high 10th goal of the season with an assist from junior defender Kevin Okapal in the 34th minute. The Rams tied the game in the 77th minute, but the Bonnies answered when junior midfielder Fabrizio Savarino headed in Maheu's cross in the 86th minute to give the team a 2-1 victory.

Savarino scored the game - winner again in Sunday's 1-0 win over Massachusetts. In the 32nd minute, Savarino headed senior defender Joe Miller's cross off of Maheu's pass into the net, helping the Bonnies earn their first win over the Minutemen since 1999.

Mahler said the two road wins are a sign the team is playing progressively better, which is an important trend at this point in the season.

"(When) I look at the past two weekends, how well we've played on Sunday, the fourth day of a four-day trip, has been impressive and I commend the guys for their focus and their efforts," Mahler said. "I think we're getting better and better as we go, so let's continue to improve. We've identified what we do well, now let's go out and train that way and keep getting better at it."

The wins helped give the Bonnies earn the No. 8 ranking in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Mahler said it is nice to be recognized by peers, but it is important to continue to earn that recognition.

"It's short-lived if we don't go out and continue to win games and continue to improve again," Mahler said. "You can be in the polls one week and out the next week."

Maheu said the team realizes what is still at stake this weekend and plans to continue playing the way it has.

"We have a chance at finishing first in the actual league, so the plan is to get a bye," Maheu said. "Instead of playing two games back-to-back (days in the tournament), we get a day off. That's the plan; just winning and keep doing the same thing we're doing."

Mahler said the team deserves and is excited to be in this position, and feels a whole range of emotions as a result.

"It's satisfying that all the hard work the players have put in they have been able to reap the reward from that," Mahler said. "As far as I'm concerned this is a program that has deserved to be in the postseason the past three years, so to some degree it feels long overdue. We've always fallen short . and I think the difference this year is we've taken care of business.