WEBSTER GROVES – Webster University is set to begin its quest for its fifth all-time St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament championship on Thursday, Nov. 1 as the No. 2 seeded Gorloks host No. 3 seeded Greenville University (14-4-1 overall, 6-2-1 SLIAC) in a 6 p.m. semifinal match of the 2018 SLIAC Tournament at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo.
 
The Gorloks, who earned the No. 2 seed in the SLIAC Tournament after earning a 5-4 come-from-behind win on Monday in its regular season finale at Principia College, come into the postseason having won three of its last four matches and is sporting a 14-4-1 overall record and went 6-2-1 in league play. Webster is making its league record 23rd all-time and 11th consecutive appearance in the SLIAC Tournament this year.
 
This year's SLIAC Tournament will have a different look than it had a season ago as Webster is the only team that qualified for this year's tournament that competed in last year's event. Last season, Webster was also the No. 2 seed and fell in the semifinal round to Principia on penalty kicks. The two teams played to a scoreless draw in double overtime, but Principia advanced thanks to winning 4-1 on penalty kicks. 
 
In last season's tournament, Westminster, who was the No. 4 seed, took home the championship after earning a 2-1 win over Principia. Westminster advanced to the finals thanks to its 1-0 win over top-seeded Fontbonne. This season, along with Webster and Greenville, who is appearing in the tournament for the first time since 2015, the other two teams playing in Thursday's semifinal is No. 1 seed and regular season SLIAC champion Spalding (14-3-1 overall, 7-1-1 SLIAC) hosted No. 4 seeded Iowa Wesleyan (8-11-1 overall, 6-3-0 SLIAC) at 6 p.m. CDT in Louisville, Ky. Spalding is making its first trip to the SLIAC Tournament since 2016, while Iowa Wesleyan will be playing its initial match in the tournament. 
 
Webster, who posted a scoreless draw in double overtime against Greenville in the regular season, comes into Thursday's SLIAC Tournament semifinal match sporting one of the top defense teams in all of NCAA Division III men's soccer as Webster is third nationally in both shutout percentage (.778) and save percentage (.917) and is ninth nationally in goals against average (.491). The Gorloks have allowed just 13 goals in 19 matches and has posted a school single season record 14 shutouts, including allowing just eight goals and recording just six shutouts in league play. 
 
Leading the way for the Gorloks defense is junior defender Justin Schmidt (St. Louis, Mo./Metro), sophomore defender Cameron Killian (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) and sophomore defender Dylan Jannin (Perryville, Mo./Perryville). Those three serve as the anchors in the back of Webster's defense that opened this season by posting seven consecutive shutouts and eight shutouts in its first nine matches. Over the past two seasons, Webster's defense has allowed just a total of 34 goals and has recorded 21 shutouts. In league play over the last two seasons, Webster has allowed a total of 13 goals and has had 11 shutouts. Killian was named a SLIAC Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season.
 
Another key member of Webster's defense has been the play of its goalkeepers as sophomore Matt Amick (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) and freshman Matt Coffey (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) have combined to record a 13-4-1 record and have allowed 13 goals and made 106 saves and have recorded 13 of the team's 14 shutouts. 
 
Amick, who was a SLIAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10, is 10-3-1 on the year and in 15 matches, he has allowed eight goals and made 83 saves and has had 11 shutouts and is fourth in Division III in save percentage (91.9 percent), while Coffey is 3-1-0 in net and in six matches, he has allowed five goals and made 23 starts and has had two complete shutouts and shared a shutout with senior goalkeeper Charlie McGhee (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo). Amick's 11 shutouts, which is fourth nationally in Division III, is tied for the most in a single season with Webster Hall of Famer Jeff Reis, who recorded 11 shutouts in 1999.
 
On offense, Webster comes into the postseason having scored 41 goals in 19 matches and is averaging 2.2 goals per game and has taken 345 shots and is averaging 18.3 shots per match. The 41 goals are nine more than Webster scored all of last season as the Gorloks tallied 32 goals in 20 matches a season ago, while the 345 shots are 74 more than they took in 2017 as Webster took 271 shots and averaged 13.6 shots per game a season ago. This season, Webster has scored two or more goals in 10 matches, including tallying a season high five goals against both Principia and Eureka. 
 
Leading the way for Webster on offense is freshman forward Aamahn Murvin (Sahuarita, Ariz./Walden Grove), who leads the team in goals scored (9), assists (5), points (23), shots (53), shots on goal (31) and game winning goals (3). Murvin's nine goals are the most scored by a Gorlok in a season since Clint Carder scored 15 goals in 2010, while his 23 points are the most by a Gorlok in a season since Zach Gyuricza tallied 25 points in 2015. 
 
Along with Murvin, the team's two other top goal scorers this season are junior midfielder Juan Garcia (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne) and freshman midfielder Isaac Pearson (St. Louis, Mo./Maplewood-Richmond Heights). Garcia has scored six goals and had two assists for a total of 14 points and Pearson has scored five goals and added four assists for a total of 14 points. Pearson is second on the team in shots with 34 and 17 of those shots have been on goal. 
 
On the season, 13 Gorloks have scored at least one goal, with eight of those players tallying two or more goals. Five Gorloks have totaled two goals in a match on the year, including Murvin scoring two goals in match two times against both Principia and Rhodes. The other Gorloks that have scored two goals this season are Pearson (at Eureka), Garcia (at Maranatha Baptist) and junior midfielder Edin Mehmedovic (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville), who had two goals at Westminster (Mo.) College.
 
Webster, who is coached by Mike Siener, has won a league-best 18 SLIAC Tournament matches and has posted an 18-16-1 record in the tournament, including winning the championship four times (1995, 2005, 2009 and 2012). In addition, Webster has been tournament runners-up six times (1994, 1997, 1998, 2011, 2013 and 2015). 
 
Siener is in his fifth season at the helm of his alma mater and has posted a 67-41-12 overall record and is 41-8-5 in SLIAC matches. His 67 wins are the second most in program history as Webster Hall of Famer Marty Todt recorded a 238-189-50 record during his 25 year tenure coaching the Gorloks. Since becoming WU's coach prior to the 2013 season, Siener has led the Gorloks to 10 or more wins four times and the 14 wins this season are the most for the program since Webster also won 14 matches in 2013, which was Siener's first year as coach. 
 
During the regular season, Webster and Greenville played to a scoreless draw in double overtime as Webster was outshot by the Panthers, 29-11. In the match, Mehmedovic and freshman midfielder Justin Kohler (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) combined for six of WU's 11 shots and Amick played all 110 minutes in goal and recorded a career-high 14 saves. Greenville's Juan Jose Herranz took eight shots off the bench, while Jared McPeek recorded six shots and three shots on goal in the match. Nick Holland had four saves in goal as he played 110 minutes. 
 
Thursday's semifinal winners will meet for the championship on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the site of the highest seeded remaining team left in the tournament. The start time for Saturday's championship match has yet to be determined. 
 
Wednesday's semifinal winners will meet for the championship on Friday, Nov. 2 at the site of the highest seeded team remaining in the tournament. The championship match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
Unlike the regular season, there will be admission charged for the SLIAC Tournament games as the ticket prices are $5 for adults and $2 for students and children under 16, while children under 5 will be admitted for free. Webster students attending Thursday's match at Soccer Park between the Gorloks and the Panthers will be admitted for free with a valid Webster student ID.
 
Along with Webster's four all-time SLIAC Tournament titles, Greenville has won three tournament titles (2008, 2010 and 2011) and has posted a 9-11-2 record in the tournament and is making its 15th appearance this season, while Spalding is making its third all-time appearance and has yet to win a title and is 1-2-0 in the tournament all-time and Iowa Wesleyan is making its first-ever tournament appearance. Webster and Greenville will be playing each other in the SLIAC Tournament for the seventh time and Webster holds a 4-2 record against the Panthers in the tournament as the two teams haven't met in the postseason since 2015 when the Gorloks posted a 4-2 win in the semifinals at Greenville. 

Here is a look at the 2018 SLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament schedule:

Thursday, Nov. 1 
Semifinal 1 (Played at Bellarmine University, Louisville, Ky.)
No. 4 seed Iowa Wesleyan (8-11-1, 6-3-0) at #1 Spalding (14-3-1, 7-1-1), 6 p.m.
Semifinal 2 (Played at World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Fenton, Mo.)
No. 3 Greenville (14-4-1, 6-2-1) at #2 Webster (14-4-1, 6-2-1), 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 3 - Championship
Semifinal winner 1 vs. Semifinal Winner 2, 7 p.m. (Location TBA/Higher seed)