MANCHESTER, N.H. - For the first time since 2013, the Southern New Hampshire Penmen are headed to the NCAA DII Final Four. SNHU captured the national title during that trip 12 years ago.
The Penmen advanced Saturday night, topping Super Region No. 6 seed Gannon, 5-0.
Martin Zapata got the scoring going 18 minutes in with his third goal in three games and his first of the postseason. Zapata did not appear in the NE10 Championships. Saturday night's game was Zapata's first in a month. Dani Gonzalez, Martin Fuentes, Inigo Iriarte and Gabi Castro rounded out the scoring.
Alvaro Garcia made one save in his third shutout of the postseason. SNHU has outscored opponents 8-0 in the NCAA bracket.
The Penmen regain the Super Region 1 championship for the Northeast 10 after a year not sending a team to the NCAA's final site. SNHU now moves on to the tournament's final four, drawing the No. 2 seed and a match with No. 3 Midwestern State out of the Lone Star Conference. The schools have never met. That semifinal matchup is set for Friday in Colorado Springs, Colo. with the championship final set for Sunday.
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The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
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