11/3/2009
Aurora, NY–
Alioune Sene (Dakar, Senegal) scored on a penalty shot in
double-overtime as the #7 seed Wells College (7-12) defeated the
#10 seed Morrisville State (3-14-1) 1-0 in the first-round of
the North Eastern Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament on
Tuesday afternoon at Wells. Express goalie Mike Birklin
(Cicero) finished with seven saves in the shutout victory
while Mustang goalie Joe Bunzey (Afton) finished with six
saves in the loss. The Express move on to face the #2 seed SUNY
IT Wildcats (12-6) in the quarterfinal round on Thursday,
November 5th at 11:30 a.m. at Wells. The
Express defeated the Wildcats in the regular season by a score
of 2-1 back on October 3rd at Wells.
Both teams battled for possession in the
first half with the Express escaping a few scares from the
Mustangs. Sanley Pierre-Louis (Nyack) would have his shot
hit the post in the 32nd minute and again the
Mustangs would hit iron in the 43rd minute on a shot
by Chris Dickey (Marcellus) as the Express faithful held
their collective breaths heading into the break.
The second half would be a back and forth
battle as the Express defense frustrated the Mustangs, who
despite firing 12 shots, managed just three on goal as both
teams remained scoreless through the first 90-minutes.
Wells would have their best scoring
opportunity of the game come in the first overtime as Patrick
Arancio (Clinton) streaked in from the right side of the
goal blasting a shot from 10-yards out as the ball went past the
outstretched fingers of Mustang goalie Joe Bunzey missing just
wide left of the goal. The Express controlled much of the
first overtime outshooting the Mustangs 4-2.
It wasn’t until early in the second
overtime, with the Express pressuring deep inside Mustang
territory, that Sene would be fouled inside the 18, resulting in
a penalty shot. With a small stutter step, Sene blasted his shot
past Bunzey into the lower right corner of the goal sending the
Express to a quarterfinal match-up with SUNY IT.
The Mustangs outshot the Express 23-16
while both teams finished with four corner kicks. The victory
marks the first time the Wells men’s soccer team has won a
playoff game while also setting the program record for wins in a
season with seven.
Boxscore
|
