WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? The top-seeded Monmouth University men's soccer team fell to fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary's 3-2 on penalty kicks in the Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals on Friday on The Great Lawn. The Hawks and Mountaineers played a scoreless 110 minutes of soccer before penalty kicks decided the outcome on Friday. The Hawks, winners of the last four NEC Regular Season Titles, finished the season with a 12-3-4 record, while Mount is now 9-9-1.
“I felt as though we did enough to win today,” said Monmouth head coach Robert McCourt. “We created some good chances in regulations and I thought we were an inch away on a few chances. Once the match went to penalty kicks, it almost felt like you could have flipped a coin to decide it.”
With the score tied at 2-2 in the penalty kick shootout, Mount St. Mary's sophomore midfielder Eric Detzel sent the game-winner into the lower right corner of the net to give the Mountaineers their first NEC title game appearance since 1999. NEC Defensive Player of the Year Angelo Amato (Livingston, N.J./Montclair Kimberly Academy) and junior defender Daniel Bostock (Nottinghamshire, England/Virginia Intermont) both tallied penaly kick score for the Hawks. Monmouth keeper Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) and his counterpart, Mount's Chris Davis each made a single save in the shootout.
Today's match with the Hawks and Mount marked the fifth time in the 20-year history of the NEC Tournament that a match reached penalty kicks and the first since the 2004 semifinals when Long Island advanced over Saint Francis (PA), 7-6, following a 1-1 deadlock.
Despite Monmouth holding a 6-3 edge in shots, there were few first half scoring opportunities for either club. Monmouth's Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) had the best chance, but his hard shot in the box was deflected away by Davis in the 29th minute. The Hawks had another opportunity when senior forward Rob LaRocca (Holmdel, N.J./CBA) lifted a cross to senior defender Andreas Klang (Gothemberg, Sweden/Brevard CC) in the 35th minute, but his one-timer sailed just wide.
In the second half, MU freshman forward Max Hamilton (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) created an opportunity in the 60th minute when he stole an errant pass and weaved his way through a slew of Mount defenders into the box. Hamilton sent a short feed to Klang on his left, whose left-footed one-timer went just outside the far post.
With 11 minutes to play, the Mount's Vinnie Berry rifled a hard shot from the top of the box that Meredith was able to punch over the crossbar. Detzel fired another shot at Meredith a minute later, but the sophomore keeper was able to smother the ball and keep the game scoreless.
With just 2:30 left on the clock, MU sophomore midfielder Drew Von Bargen (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) crossed a ball in front of the six-yard box that eluded Davis, but a pair of Hawks were unable to corral the loose ball before it was cleared. Just 40 seconds remained when Kinne broke free down the left sideline and fed sophomore forward Chase Barbieri (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) with a short pass in the box. Davis came out to meet Barbieri, and turned away a point blank shot in the final opportunity of regulation.
Shortly after the start of overtime, Klang worked his way to the baseline and placed a cross that narrowly missed the foot of Barbieri, who was alone in front of the goal. Kinne had the only real opportunity in the second extra session, but his shot from 18-yards away sailed just over the net in the 108th minute.
Monmouth finished with a 13-8 edge in shots and both teams finished with 10 corners. Davis finished with four saves, while Meredith turned back three shots.
“I am very proud of how the team performed all season,” said McCourt. “I also want to congratulate and thank our seniors on all of the success they have had with the program.”
