SLIPPERY ROCK — Home is where the heart is.

The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team is hoping it's where the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region champion resides as well.

The Rock (17-3-1), in need of one victory to secure the program record for most wins in a season, is the No. 1 seed in the region and is hosting the first two rounds of its venture into the NCAA Tournament.

Last year, SRU picked up the first NCAA playoff win in its history. This year, The Rock is hosting the region event for the first time.

"Our goal is to advance farther than last year. We have that mind-set going into this thing," eighth-year coach Matt Thompson said.

SRU faces No. 4 seed Mercyhurst (14-5-1) at 5 p.m. Friday at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium. No. 2 seed Millersville (17-2-0) plays third-seeded Charleston (W.Va.) (17-3-0) at 2 p.m.

The winners play at 2 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the Elite Eight.

"Since we're a No. 1 seed, if we survive this weekend's tournament, we could host our Elite Eight game as well," Thompson said."

The Division II men's soccer Final Four will do battle in Tampa, Fla.

"Given our resources, we have overachieved," Thompson said. "We have the equivalent of 1.4 full scholarships. Mercyhurst and Gannon have eight, California (Pa.) four.

"But success breeds success. We recruit the Pittsburgh region hard and a lot of kids want to stay close to home and play for a winning program. We preach team spirit, team chemistry. ... These guys work hard together, play for each other and it works."

Senior forward Jeremy Deighton is a prime example. The two-time PSAC West Player of the Year is from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, which won the Ohio Division I state championship his senior year and was the top-ranked high school soccer team in the country.

Three of his fellow seniors that year are now captains of their respective college teams at Notre Dame, Kentucky and Northwestern.

"I had chances to go Division I," Deighton said. "Bowling Green, Xavier and Dayton were interested, but I wanted to go someplace where I could make an impact for four years, not one or two."

He did just that at SRU, where Deighton has been the team's leading scorer for four seasons. He led the PSAC with 17 goals, 41 points and eight game-winning goals in 2009.

"It's gone better for me than I thought," he said. "My goals were to become one of the top forwards in the PSAC, not win player of the year for two straight years.

"I'm graduating in four years with a major in marketing. And my teammates are guys I've enjoyed hanging around with."

Four Butler County players are on SRU's roster, though they've combined to start only three games. Slippery Rock High graduate Mike Ramirez scored 32 goals for the Rockets last year. He has one assist for SRU as a freshman forward this year while subbing for Deighton.

Seneca Valley graduate R.J. Case is a sophomore midfielder while Butler graduates Drew Donoghue and Christian McChesney are freshman defenders.

"I averaged about 25 minutes per game earlier in the season. But late in the year, Jeremy played a lot more in the bigger games and I averaged about 10 minutes," Ramirez said.

"I originally came to SRU to kick for the football team, but I missed soccer and approached Coach Thompson about walking on."

Ramirez said his goal now is to lead the team in goals for a year and to gain all-conference honors.

"From watching Jeremy, I've learned I have to get stronger," Ramirez said. "He's so strong on the ball, strong in the air.

"The speed of the game at this level is much faster and the play is more physical."

Freshman Benjamin Lloyd is The Rock's second-leading scorer with four goals and 15 points. Kenneth Fultz has five goals and 13 points.

SRU is 10-0 at home and 1-1-1 against Mercyhurst, beating the Lakers on penalty kicks in the PSAC semifinals after splitting 2-1 decisions in the regular season.

"No game is easy from here on in," Thompson said. "But we're still playing."