Morrisville State advances to second round of NCAA Division III Tournament
MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Morrisville State College men's soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament Friday afternoon, topping Kings College 5-4 in the shootout round to move on to the next round.
The contest ended in a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods before being settled in a dramatic penalty kick shootout to decide the advancing team.
Evenly matched throughout the contest, it was the hosts that struck first. In the 18th minute, Morrisville State senior midfielder Jesse Astudillo (Wheeling, Ill.) collected the ball at the top of the circle and rifled it down center through the Monarch defense to put the Mustangs on the scoreboard.
Morrisville State carried the 1-0 advantage into the halftime period, but King's responded early in the half, notching the evening tally less than a minute into the second. David Stroh (Lake Ronkankoma, N.Y.) collected the ball off a Mustang clearing attempt and beat a defender for the score that found the bottom right of the net in the 46th minute of the contest.
Stroh's goal was the first to get by the Mustangs in seven games.
Both teams had equal chances down the stretch, but neither could muster another score as the game headed into not just one, but two overtime periods.
King's College had two corner kicks in the extra frames, but Morrisville State were the ones to put shots on net, a total of two that Monarch goalkeeper Tyler Wilson (Odenton, Md.) turned away to force the penalty kick shootout round.
Wilson had a total five saves on the day.
King's College held the 2-1 advantage through four rounds of the shootout period, but it was Morrisville State's fifth by Jamieson McKoy (Bronx, N.Y.) that found the back of the net to keep the Mustangs alive, and force the "sudden victory" extra shootout rounds.
Both teams converted their first two kicks to remain even, and both missed on the eighth attempt. After a conversion by Yusuf Saunders (Bronx, N.Y.) on the ninth kick, Morrisville State keeper Rob Larkin (Clinton, N.Y.) made the biggest stop of his career, turning away the Monarch kick that was heading towards the right post, to send the Mustangs to the next round of the NCAA Championship Tourney.
Larkin posted six saves between the pipes for Morrisville State, three in both the first and second periods.
King's College concludes their season with a 15-5-2 overall record and second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Morrisville State (16-2-1) advances to face defending national champion Messiah College on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. in Messiah. Additional details surrounding the game will be announced once made available.
