November 19, 2009 SHOOTOUT SURVIVORS Monmouth men gain 2nd round in NCAAs
Monmouth players celebrate overcoming UConn in a shootout in a Division I first-round game. Photo courtesy of Monmouth SID
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- The Monmouth University men reached the second round of the NCAA Division I soccer tournament by surviving a penalty-kick shootout with the University of Connecticut on The Great Lawn Thursday afternoon.
The fifth-ranked Hawks (18-1-2) prevailed in the tie-breaker, 4-3, after playing the No. 12 Huskies to a scoreless tie over 110 minutes.
Dan Bostock, Ryan Kinne, Ryan Clark and Cesar Blacido (the game-winner) converted their shootout attempts for Monmouth, which won its first NCAA tournament game in program history.
The Hawks will play at ninth-ranked Harvard University (13-3-1) in Cambridge, Mass. in the second round at 1 p.m. Sunday.
“This is a tremendous achievement for our program,” Monmouth coach Robert McCourt said. “The guys worked very hard for this victory today and we look forward to the next NCAA match with Harvard. We weathered the storm early and had some good moments in the second half and overtime. The team showed a lot of character today.”
The shootout was tied at 3-3 after five kicks when Monmouth goalkeeper Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, N.J.) stopped Mike Pezza’s attempt to the left upper 90. MU sophomore Cesar Blacido (Ramsey, N.J.) stepped to the ball and laced a shot to the left of keeper Josh Ford and into the back of the net for the shootout’s deciding score.
After neither team could produce a goal in the 90-minute regulation and two 10-minute extratime periods, the match entered the shootout. UConn’s Carlos Alvarez was the first shootout participant, and his shot sailed high over the goal. MU’s RJ Allen (Old Bridge, N.J.) was the first Hawk to shoot and his shot also went wide.
In the second round, UCONN’s Toni Stahl scored, and Bostock followed suit, tying it at 1-1.
UConn’s Cruz Hernandez scored next as Kinne, a Hermann Award Watch List member, evened up the shootout for Monmouth at 2-2.
Meredith saved Robert Brickley’s shot in the fourth round, and MU freshmen Cody Calafiore’s (Howell, N.J.) attempt beat Ford, but it rang off both posts and the tie-breaker remained tied.
Alan Ponce scored for the Huskies, putting them up 3-2, before Clark (Freehold, N.J.) tallied the equalizer, setting up Meredith’s and Blacido’s late heroics.
The Huskies outshot the Hawks, 15-4, and held a 5-3 advantage on corner kicks. Meredith made four saves in regulation and extratime, none bigger than a diving save on Alvarez in the second extratime. The junior dived to his left and stopped the ball after it had passed him, but before it crossed the goal line, to preserve the scoreless result and force the shootout.
