BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Northampton men's soccer team faces a must-win situation today when they host conference rival Lehigh Carbon Community College at 3:30pm at Spartan Field.

The Spartans, who are currently 3-4-3 in Region XIX play, need to finish .500, or better, in Region play or finish in the top four in the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC) to advance to the Region XIX playoffs.

NCC has two games remaining, Monday October 15th vs. Lehigh Carbon and then Wednesday October 17th at Montgomery County Community College.

The Spartans defeated the Cougars 3-0 in their first matchup this season, while NCC and MontCo played to a scoreless draw in their first encounter.

Lehigh Carbon, with a record of 0-10-0 in Region play will look to play spoiler today, while Montgomery (4-5-2) needs a victory on Wednesday to qualify for the postseason.

"This is why you play the game," stated Head Coach Joe Heitczman, "how can the guys not be excited about these two games ... everything on the line, the opportunity to get back to the postseason ... we control our own destiny at this point."

Manor College and Bucks County Community College have locked up playoff spots out of the EPAC conference, while Northampton, Delaware and Montgomery are all still in the mix.

The Region XIX playoffs begin on Saturday October 20th.