MATTHEWS, N.C. — The University of Charleston’s run ended Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championship final.
 
The Golden Eagles, the top overall seed among the semifinalists, lost to second-seeded Lynn University, 3-2, at the Sportsplex at Matthews. All three of Lynn’s goals came in the first half.
 
Charleston, which finished the season 22-2-1, scored its first goal in the 54th minute on a penalty kick by Joao Belmudes. It was Belmudes’ sixth goal in the last six games, and 14th of the season. Lynn entered Saturday’s game with the fewest goals allowed in NCAA Division II with 11 in 21 games.
 
Joao Silva added a goal in the 81^st minute to trim the deficit to one goal, 3-2, but a flurry of action in the final eight minutes could not produce the equalizer.
 
The final score was a repeat of the national championship played between UC and Lynn a decade ago — a 3-2 win by Lynn in Louisville, Kentucky. In that matchup, the Fighting Knights also scored a trio of first-half goals and watched as the Golden Eagles scored twice after intermission but could not even the score. That was Lynn’s most recent national championship victory.
 
UC was in pursuit of the program’s third national championship, with past wins coming in 2017 and 2019.
 
Lynn (20-0-2) opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Luke Kiefer, on an assist from Tony Gomez, found the back of the net. Luan Barroso Rennstich tacked on another goal in the 28th minute to make it 2-0, and Gomez added a third goal in the 30th minute. Lynn, ranked No. 1 for the last seven weeks of the regular season, held a 3-0 advantage at intermission.
 
Saturday’s loss ends a remarkable season for the University of Charleston. The Golden Eagles did not lose until the regular season finale against Concord, and captured the Mountain East Conference regular season championship and MEC tournament crown. UC racked up individual honors along the way, including a sweep of the MEC’s four individual awards: Jack Kay was named the MEC Offensive Player of the Year; Tristen Rose claimed Defensive Player of the Year honors; Joao Silva was picked as the league’s top freshman; and head coach Daniel Smee was again named MEC Coach of the Year.
 
Overall, Charleston led the MEC with seven first-team selections and three second-team picks.
 
UC had a trio of student-athletes honored on the D2CCA Men’s Soccer All-American teams this week: defender Tristen Rose (first team); forward Joao Belmudes (first team), and midfielder Caio Moraes (second team).