The Mary Washington men's soccer team scored twice in a span of 10 seconds in the second half to defeat Bowdoin 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament Sunday at Amherst College.
The Eagles (13-4-4) advance to their first Final Four since 1997 while Bowdoin loses for just the second time all season and finishes a phenomenal year with a record of 13-2-5.
Game Highlights
- On a cold and blustery day in western Massachusetts, the teams traded back and forth play in the early going.
- Bowdoin had the better of the early chances, included a pair of shots by Felipe Rueda Duran – one that sailed wide of the net and another that was blocked in front.
- In the 27th minute, Mary Washington jumped ahead as a corner kick resulted in a scrum in front of the Bowdoin net. Jacob Kautzman pounced on the loose ball to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
- Bowdoin continued to pressure, however, and found the equalizer 13 minutes later as a set piece came to the head of Julian Juantorena, who received an assist from Ronaldo Cabral, and put it home to even the score at 1-1.
- The pace quickened in the second half, but Mary Washington delivered a crushing blow just over five minutes into the frame. Following a Bowdoin foul in their defensive box, the Eagles were awarded a penalty shot and Carter Berg tucked it into the lower right corner for a 2-1 lead.
- Just ten seconds after the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles grabbed a turnover and cashed in on a fast break as Berg put home a feed from Josh Kirkland to take a commanding 3-1 edge.
- Bowdoin would not go away, and pressed the Mary Washington defense for the remainder of the match. Bowdoin was awarded a PK in the 56th minute, and Harry Cooper scored to cut the lead to 3-2.
- The Polar Bears controlled the pace of play for the final 30 minutes but couldn't find an equalizer. Their best chance to tie the game came with 25 minutes to go as a rush downfield by Cabral drew Eagles goalie Griffin Hemmendinger out of position. Cabral played the ball to a wide open Minseo Bae at the top of the box, who pushed a low shot towards the open net. Mary Washington defender Evan Fidler was standing on the goal line, however, and was able to block the shot to maintain the one-goal lead.
- Bowdoin owned a 24-16 advantage in shots, including an 11-8 edge in shots on goal. The Polar Bears also had a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks.
- Michael Webber stopped five shots for Bowdoin while Griffin Hemmendinger made nine stops for the Eagles.
- Sunday was the first time all season that the Polar Bears had allowed more than one goal in a game.
- The Polar Bears ended a historic campaign that saw the program win the second-most games in a season in program history (13) and advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second time.
Original source can be found here
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