November 22, 2009
MSOC: #6 DOLPHINS ADVANCE TO NCAA SEMIFINALS WITH 3-2 SHOOTOUT
VICTORY OVER #22 SO. NEW HAMPSHIRE
Syracuse, N.Y. - Senior goalkeeper Steve White (Cortland,
N.Y./Cortland) stopped two shots in the penalty kick
shootout to lead the Le Moyne College men's soccer team to a 3-2
win over Southern New Hampshire University in the shootout of the
NCAA East Region finals on Sunday afternoon at the Thomas J. Niland
Athletic Complex. The two teams played to a 1-1 tie over 110
minutes to force the shootout to determine which team advanced to
the national semifinals.
On the opening attempt of the shootout, White dove to his right to
turn away the shot by 
Michael Adam. Junior midfielder Zach Kuzemka (Chenango
Forks, N.Y./Chenango Forks/Fairfield) then buried his
attempt into the back of the net to give the Dolphins a 1-0 lead.
On SNHU's next attempt, Jayme Kapinos had his shot initially saved
by White, but the ball rolled back into the goal to even the
shootout at one apiece. Sophomore Jesse Carr (Skaneateles,
N.Y./Skaneateles) regained the lead for the Dolphins by
putting his shot into the right side of the goal. After Richard
Kentish blasted his shot off the left post, junior Sean
Lawlor (Kirkham, Preston/Baines School) hit the crossbar
to keep the score 2-1. Paul D'Angelo evened the shootout at two on
SNHU's fourth attempt, but sophomore Marcus Debottis
(Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) scored on Le Moyne's
fourth attempt for the eventual winner. Adrian Schippers, last
year's Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year, shot at the left
post, but White made the diving catch to seal the shootout
victory.
The two teams played a scoreless opening 45 minutes to go into
halftime deadlocked. Each team recorded five shots in the half,
with White making a pair of saves for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins broke through in the 75th minute on Kuzemka's fourth
goal of the season. Kuzemka took a pass from sophomore midfielder
Josh Mabee (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) at
the top of the penalty box, took a dribble and drilled a
left-footed shot underneath goalkeeper Joey Kapinos at the 74:56
mark.
The Penmen had an opportunity to tie the score in the 78th minute,
but White made a diving save on a shot towards the upper right
corner by Christian Rodriguez. Less than three and one-half minutes
later, the Penmen evened the score at one goal apiece. Chris Tsonis
took a feed from Daniel Hernandez just inside the penalty box and
scored into the lower right corner of the goal with 8:36 remaining
in regulation.
In the two overtime periods, the Penmen registered a 3-0 advantage
in shots, but could not score the game-winner. At the 1:52 mark of
the second overtime period, Adam launched a shot from 25 yards, but
White was able to punch the ball over the crossbar.
Le Moyne (18-2-3), which is unbeaten over its last nine games,
will face #1 nationally-ranked Fort Lewis in the NCAA Semifinals on
Dec. 3 at Pepin Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S SOCCER
BRACKETS
NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S SOCCER
CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION
-agate-
#6 Le Moyne 1, #22
Southern New Hampshire 1
#22 So. New Hampshire (14-4-4)
0
1
0
0
- 1
#6 Le Moyne
(18-2-3)
0
1
0
0
- 1
Le Moyne wins shootout 3-2
#22 So. New Hampshire (14-4-4): SCORING: Chris Tsonis 1-0, Daniel
Hernandez 0-1. GOALKEEPING: Joey Kapinos (110:00, 1 GA, 1
save).
#6 Le Moyne (18-2-3): SCORING: Zach Kuzemka 1-0, Josh Mabee 0-1.
GOALKEEPING: Steve White (110:00, 1 GA, 9 saves).
