Susquehanna Soccer Outlasts Cabrini, Grabs NCAA Tourney Win
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – It was practically Sunday morning
by the time the game ended, but it was well worth the wait for
Susquehanna men's soccer fans as the team prevailed in penalty
kicks against Cabrini to advance to the second round of the NCAA
Division III Tournament.
The Crusaders (17-2-1) will now face the University of
Rochester on Sunday at 5 p.m. The Yellow Jackets won the evening's
first game, also on penalty kicks, against Misericordia.
It took six rounds of penalty kicks but SU prevailed 6-5 to
advance to the next round. David
Trank (Mendham, N.J./West Morris
Mendham) provided the ultimate game winner for
his squad, connecting on the team's sixth and decisive penalty
shot, after the Crusaders had surrendered a 1-0 lead late in the
second half.
As a team, Susquehanna held an edge in shots (15-8) and
corner kicks (8-4) and limited the Cavaliers (11-7-4) to just four
shots on goal all night. SU goalie Matt
Salsman (Selinsgrove,
Pa./Selinsgrove) may have needed to make only
three saves in 110 minutes of action but came up huge in penalty
kicks, stopping two of Cabrini's final three attempts.
The teams played a scoreless first half despite four shots
from SU and just one from Cabrini. Salsman saw limited action as
the Crusader defense was able to prevent the Cavaliers from taking
a single shot on goal over those first 45 minutes.
Patrick
Fry (Denver, Colo./Colorado
Academy) recorded Susquehanna's final shot on
goal in the half with a header at the 30:20 mark that was saved by
Cabrini goalie R.J. Pino.
With just over 15 minutes left in
regulation, Sam Tana (Baldwin, Md. / St.
Paul's) came up with the first goal of the
night off a deflected Sam
Meister shot that Tana knocked into the net
for a 1-0 score.
As time wound down in the second half it appeared Tana's
goal would stand up as the ultimate game winner but with exactly
two minutes left in the game, the Crusaders gave up an own goal,
suddenly knotting the game at one and forcing overtime.
Both 10-minute overtime periods passed without a score,
resulting in penalty kicks where SU ultimately advanced to Sunday's
second-round match.
