BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Notre Dame College and Charleston will meet for the Mountain East Conference men’s soccer title on Sunday afternoon following semifinal wins on Thursday evening. Charleston will host the championship match at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the Welch Athletic Complex.
#3 Notre Dame draws #2 Davis & Elkins, 2-2 (NDC advances 3-2 in PKs) | Final Stats
Following a scoreless first half in Elkins, the Senators got on the scored just over a minute into the second half on a goal from Dominique Castano, his third goal of the season. Just seven minutes later, Daniel Cerezo, with an assist from Beltran Fernandez, made it 2-0 in the 54
th minute.
With time ticking away in the 85
th minute, Notre Dame finally got on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal from Marcus Vinicius Pereira on a penalty kick. With Notre Dame still trailing 2-1 nearing the 88-minute mark, Eden Ben Hagay set up Antonio Bittencourt for the game-tying goal.
With the shootout tied 2-2 after three shots per team, Notre Dame’s Ned Dry stepped up and scored high-right into the goal to give the Falcons the lead in the shootout. Davis & Elkins’ Josh Gabriel missed wide right on his shot attempt to end the game and send Notre Dame to the finals with a 3-2 edge in PKs.
Despite the result, Davis & Elkins had a 16-5 advantage in total shots, including a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. The Senators also had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
#1 Charleston def. #4 Wheeling, 3-0 | Final Stats
In Thursday’s second semifinal at the Welch Athletic Complex, top-seeded Charleston scored two first-half goals and pulled away for a 3-0 shutout win over Wheeling.
With an assist from Lewis Redding, Charleston’s Sam Bethell broke the scoreless tie in the 40
th minute to give the hosts the 1-0 advantage late in the opening half. A minute and a half later, Santiago Hoyos scored into the lower left corner of the goal to give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 advantage.
The score remained the same until the 72
nd minute when Eduardo Iranzo made it 3-0 Golden Eagles on a goal that was assisted by Giorgos Diakos.
Statistically, Charleston had a 12-5 advantage in total shots, including a 4-2 edge in shots on goal. UC also had an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks.
UC goalkeeper Marc Torrado, a first-team All-MEC selection, recorded his ninth shutout of the season in goal for the Golden Eagles.