Garnet Fall in NCAA Section Semifinal
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Top-ranked Trinity (Texas) University and Amherst (Mass.) College advanced to the sectional final of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships hosted at Clothier Field on the campus of Swarthmore College Saturday evening.
Trinity (20-0-1) used a late second-half goal from senior forward Patrick Floeck (Carrollton, Texas) to post a a 2-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan (18-5-1) in the first match while Amherst (14-3-3) tallied the lone score in a 1-0 win at #11 Swarthmore (17-3-2) with 20 seconds remaining in the first half in the nigh-tcap.
The two teams will meet on Sunday, November 23 at 6:00 p.m. on Clothier Field for the chance at a trip to Greensboro, North Carolina for the NCAA Division III Championship Semifinals.
Floeckís 14th goal of the season with just 4:56 remaining in regulation broke up a 1-1 tie, sending the Tigers to the sectional final for the third time in four seasons. Floeckís goal came on a one-touch, on a pass from senior midfielder Noe Casanova (Kingwood, Texas) inside the Battling Bishops' penalty box.
Trinity, who out-shot the Battling Bishops 15-6, took a 1-0 lead in the first half when sophomore forward Cameron Hogsett (McKinney, Texas) scored his 12th goal of the season as he tucked a shot just under the crossbar from the left flank.
In the second half, Ohio Wesleyan tied the score just 3:56 in when freshman forward Matt Bonfini (Dublin, Ohio) settled a loose ball and chipped a shot over Tiger junior goalkeeper Patrick Johnson (Houston, Texas).
Johnson finished with two saves, while junior goalkeeper Richard Ott (Norwalk, Ohio) had three saves for Ohio Wesleyan.
The nightcap saw the temperatures (30 degrees at kickoff) drop even lower as the Clothier Field stands filled to capacity with the hometown Garnet on the pitch. The visiting Lord Jeffs matched Swarthmore's trade-mark physical play from the opening seconds; the final foul total would be 24-16 with Amherst on top.
A scoreless half seemed to be developing until the Lord Jeffs hustled to execute a throw-in down the left side of the Swarthmore end. With 25 seconds remaining, Amherst senior Rory O'Connor (West Boylston, Mass.) hurled the ball into the Garnet box and a Swarthmore clear attempt shot straight up in the air. Amherst senior Grayson Holland (Sudbury, Mass.) flicked a header across the box and teammate Jae Heo (ChangWon, South Korea) got his left toe on the loose ball. Heo's shot beat Garnet goalkeeper David D'Annunzio (Piedmont, Calif.) to the right side for his 12th goal of the season.
The Lord Jeffs survived the Swarthmore offense attack in the second half, denying three corner-kick opportunities. The best chance for the Garnet came when a free kick by freshman Roberto Contreras, IV (Sugar Land, Texas) banged off the far post and out the other side of the box.
Amherst goalkeeper Lennard Kovacs (Wolfersdorf, Germany) made two saves for eighth shutout of the season, while D'Annunzio also posted a pair of saves for Swarthmore.
TRINITY/OHIO WESLEYAN BOX SCORE
SWARTHMORE/AMHERST BOX SCORE