RADNOR, PA. -- Gwynedd-Mercy defeated host Cabrini, 3-0, in the first round of the 2011 Colonial States Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Tuesday evening. This was the third consecutive meeting between the programs in the last three years in the playoffs with Cabrini winning the last two. With the victory the Griffins will travel to Neumann University Thursday for a semifinal matchup starting at 5 p.m.
 
The match was scoreless until late in the first half at the 43:03 minute mark when GMC Head Coach Dave Bontempo looked to his bench as sophomore Tyler Ward (Philadelphia, Pa. / North Catholic) buried one in the back of the net off of a rebound shot by sophomore Pat Kraenbring (Roslyn, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) to give the Griffins a 1-0 advantage.
 
The Griffins kept the momentum going, striking early in the second, scoring in the 46:03 minute mark on a goal by sophomore Dan Panepresso (Philadelphia, Pa. / Archbishop Ryan) on an assist from fellow sophomore Trevor Sotell (Cinnaminson, N.J. / Paul VI) to give Gwynedd the 2-0 advantage.  Panepresso would capitalize yet again on another opportunity for his second tally of the night at the 56:18 minute mark giving the Griffins a 3-0 edge.  
 
Senior goalie Mike Leonard (Glen Mills, Pa / Cardinal O'Hara) recorded his first ever post season shutout collecting two saves.  This was also Leonard's 5th shutout for the season and 6th for the season as a team. His counterpart Eric Nowicki collected two saves as well for the Cavaliers.
 
Gwynedd-Mercy (7-13) outshot Cabrini (9-10-1), 10-5, in the contest, with the Cavaliers holding 11-4 corner kick advantage.
 
This is also Gwynedd-Mercy's first win over Cabrini since the 2005 season. The Griffins are in the semi-finals for the second time in their program history.  They defeated Marywood University in a 2009 quarterfinal match, 2-1.