STATEMENT ON MEN'S SOCCER SEASON FROM DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS TROY TUCKER

Spartan Fans;

I wanted to provide some information regarding the abrupt end to the men's soccer season on Tuesday October 19th.  The team was scheduled to play Salem Community College that afternoon at 3:30pm, however we were informed at 2pm that two members of the team had tested positive for COVID-19 during our standard weekly testing protocols.  Working directly with our College Health Center, it was determined, based on quarantine and isolation protocols that we would not be able to play that afternoon and most likely would be out for the playoffs on Saturday October 23rd.  

Due to the fact that seeding for the Region 19 tournament was set to take place on the morning of October 20th, it was imperative that we could provide the Region Soccer Committee an accurate answer on whether or not we would be able to compete in the postseason by Wednesday morning.  Based on the number of individuals that were forced to quarantine or isolate, we made the difficult decision to remove ourselves from playoff consideration. 

Entering the season, we all knew that this type of scenario was a possibility, unfortunately it hit us at a very inopportune time with the playoffs looming on the horizon.  I want to congratulate Coach Mario Barrantes and the men's soccer team on a terrific season, finishing with an overall record of 6-4-1, including a 4-1-1 record over their final 6 games, in addition to being tabbed EPAC Champions. 

Sincerely, 

Troy Tucker
Director of Athletics