Local college roundup: Conn men's soccer to host NCAA Division III tournament play

New London — Connecticut College learned its NCAA Division III men's soccer tournament opponent and site on Monday.The Camels (10-2-6) will begin their quest for the program's second national championship — they won their first in 2021 — at home, serving as the host for first- and second-round action this weekend at Freeman Field.They'll face Suffolk University (10-6-5) at 11 a.m. Saturday. No. 19 Franklin & Marshall (9-2-7) will play Western Connecticut State University (15-4-3) in the second game at 1:30 p.m. The winners will meet in Sunday's second round. Conn earned an automatic berth by capturing their first New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament championship Sunday, beating previously undefeated No. 3 Middlebury College 3-1 in the final. The Camels knocked off two other ranked teams during their run, defeating No. 8 Amherst (1-1, 4-2 on penalty kicks) and No. 20 Williams (2-1).Suffolk will be making its second NCAA appearance in program history. The Rams clinched an automatic bid by capturing the Conference of New England tournament title.It will be the first meeting between the teams.The Camels have the edge in postseason experience, making their seventh NCAA tournament trip overall and second straight.Elsewhere in the Division III men's soccer tournament, three players with local ties will be playing with their respective college teams.Stonington High School alum Tyler Fidrych is a graduate midfielder for Babson College (14-1-6), which will host St. John Fisher University (11-4-5) in first-round action Saturday in Babson Park, Massachusetts. He has appeared in all 21 games, starting 15, and had four assists.Junior defender Jeremy Gibbs and freshman forward Griffin Neal, two Waterford graduates, play for the University of Saint Joseph (14-4-3), which will face Wesleyan (7-4-5) Saturday at Babson.College honors• UConn redshirt junior Alex Karaban was named to the Big East weekly men's basketball honor roll. In two lopsided wins last week, Karaban averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 5.5 blocks. He shot 64.7% from the field and 61.9% from 3-point range. Karaban also made The Sporting News' preseason All-American first team.• The Big East chose UConn forward Sarah Strong as its women's basketball Freshman of the Week. Strong averaged 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4.0 steals in two wins.Redshirt senior Paige Bueckers made the Big East weekly honor roll after averaging 17.5 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals in two games.• Conn College sophomore Charlie Miles was selected as the New England Small College Athletic Conference player of the week for men's soccer. He played every minute of conference tournament wins over No. 20 Williams and No. 3 Middlebury during which the Camels allowed just two goals.