In the first year of NCAA Division III competition, UST Men’s Soccer impressed by qualifying for the Sweet 16 round in Chicago this weekend. After defeating Chapman and Pacific Lutheran in the first two rounds, the Celts will face top-five academic powerhouse University of Chicago with a trip to the elite eight on the line.

Offensive Firepower and Clean Defense Stand Tall

With their backs against the wall down 1-0, the first match against Chapman saw Taty Aleman take over the game. Aleman scored two goals in the rout of the Panthers as the Celts won 2-1. In game two, the Pacific Lutheran Lutes were shut out by Rodrigo Lazo and the St. Thomas defense. Lazo and his line allowed just four shots from their opponent against 17 from St. Thomas. Taty Aleman scored another one and Ayomide Salako picked up his first of the postseason as the Celts won 2-0. With these two victories, UST Men’s Soccer punched their ticket to the sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer National Tournament.

“Today’s game was amazing, I knew we had to win this,” Taty Aleman said. “It’s just one step at a time.”

One Team, One Motto

Throughout the entire season, men’s soccer has shared on social media their one phrase “driven beyond.” This is more applicable than ever with this year being the first UST can qualify for NCAA National Tournament. After getting the automatic qualifier from winning the SCAC, the Celts took advantage of the opportunity making it all the way to the sweet 16. This is historic for the conference as St. Thomas is only the second men’s soccer program to win multiple games in the NCAA national tournament.

“Driven beyond for me means that we continue to set new standards within this program,” Head Coach Ian Clerihew added. “Winning conference championships is always important, but now on the national stage we have an opportunity to set a national standard of who we are as UST Men’s Soccer.”

UST Men’s Soccer will kick off against Chicago Saturday at 11 a.m. Should the Celts win, they will advance to the elite eight round Sunday against the winner of St. Olaf and Gustavus Adolphus. Follow UST Athletics for more information.