Gannon Set to Host 2009 Men's Division II Eastern Championship

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The 2009 Division III Eastern Championship will decided this weekend at Gannon University as the No. 2 seed Knights will host No. 1 seed Mercyhurst College, No. 3 Queens College (N.Y.) and No. 4 Salem International University on Saturday, September 12.

Mercyhurst, which knocked off Gannon 10-5 to win the 2008 title hosted by Fordham University, will seek their third consecutive DII Eastern title.

In the history of the champinoship, all four teams have qualified for the title game with Queens (2003) and Salem (2004) joining Mercyhurst (2007, 2008) as the programs to win titles.  Overall, Queens knocked off Slippery Rock University, while Salem defeated Mercyhurst before the Lakers stopped Gannon the past two years in the title tilt.

The one-day championship will open at 9:00 a.m. on September 12 when Mercyhurst clashes with Salem International.  Following a 10:15 a.m. contest between Gannon and Queens, the defeated from the two games will meet for third place at 2:00 p.m. before the victors meet at 3:30 p.m. in the Division II Eastern title game.

On Sunday, September 13, Penn State-Behrend, a Division III member of the CWPA, will host Queens and Salem in non-conference games.  These games are not part of the Division II Eastern Championship and have no bearing on the outcome of the tournament.

Teams listed first wear dark caps and are home on the scoreboard. Host team always wears dark caps and is listed first on the scoreboard regardless of seed.

Italicized games are not part of the Division II Eastern Championship