IMMACULATA, Pa. – The #2-seeded Immaculata men's soccer team is set to begin their campaign to retake the Atlantic East Championship title on Saturday as they host #7 Gwynedd Mercy for a 12:00 P.M. Quarterfinal showdown.
 
Following the cancellation of the 2020 Atlantic East season, the Mighty Macs will finally have a chance to defend their 2019 Atlantic East title.
 
"The upperclassmen who were here in 2019 still refer to that year and to the conference victory," explained Punt. "The freshman and sophomores coming in want to achieve the same and experience it for themselves this year. There is also the added factor that whoever wins the conference will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament."
 
The Macs will begin with a familiar foe in the Griffins, having just defeated them 8-0 last Saturday. That result, however, is not guaranteed heading into the Atlantic East Tournament.
 
Gwynedd has a lot more to play for now in the postseason and will play with a lot more vigor," said Punt. "It will be a much closer, hard-fought game and we will have to play our best to get the result we want."
 
The Griffins have been led offensively this season by senior Hugh Lynch, who has recorded three goals and two assists on the season. He is joined up top by sophomore Mike Fienman who has accrued two goals and one assist. Junior John Wagner has started in 13 games in goal for the Griffins this season, registering a 3.70 goals allowed average and a 59.2% save percentage.
 
Immaculata enters the game having performed extremely well in conference play. Defensively, goalkeeper Garrett Pepper has led the Mighty Macs to four conference shutouts in six games played. On the season, Pepper has recorded a 1.64 goals allowed average and a 72.7% save percentage. Pepper is aided on the defensive backline by senior captain Jacob Fitzgerald.
 
Offensively, the Macs have been led by playmakers Josh Fonder and Oldy Dielce who have each recored four goals on the season. John Bohrer, meanwhile, has scored three goals and three assists for the Mighty Macs while freshman Reed Lindsay has accrued three goals and two assists on the year. Additionally, Chang Catalana and Zachary Malcolm have each recorded two goals on the year while Malcolm has picked up two assists.
 
"The best thing for us is that we have gotten better throughout the year," detailed Punt. "After a slow start where we experimented with how we wanted to play, our players have settled into form at just the right time of year."
 
While the Mighty Macs are riding high after last week's victory, they know that they need to come into the conference tournament ready to earn every victory.
 
"We need to make sure that we are as prepared as we can be," explained Punt. "We cannot be complacent having beaten them once before. We now have to refocus and take it one game at a time if we want to have a chance at successfully defending the conference title."