No. 4 Men's Soccer Eliminated From NAC Tournament By No. 5 Maine-Farmington
NO. 5 MAINE-FARMINGTON
ADVANCES PAST NO. 4 ELMS COLLEGE
IN NAC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINALS
CHICOPEE, MA, Oct. 28, 2007 - Elms College junior goalkeeper Nick Pellegrini (Ludlow, MA) and University of Maine-Farmington junior goalkeeper Brian Lemont (Brunswick, ME) each stopped five shots, but the No. 5 Beavers converted on three penalty kicks in the shootout to advance past the No. 4 Blazers in Sunday's North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men's Soccer Tournament quarterfinal game at Leary Field.
The two teams played to a 0-0 tie following regulation and two 10-minute overtimes to set the scene for the penalty kick shootout.
After Elms College sophomore midfielder Ben Masse (Chicopee, MA) and Maine-Farmington senior midfielder Jeff Tatarczuk (Westbrook, ME) each exchanged goals in the first round of penalty kicks, Lemont stopped two of the next three kicks, and the Beavers received goals by senior midfielder Peter Doolittle (Poughkeepsie, NY) and senior midfielder Andy Knox (Waterloo, IA) to advance past the Blazers.
Maine-Farmington (6-4-6) now moves on to Wednesday's NAC Tournament semifinal to face the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal between No. 1 Castleton/No. 8 Johnson State.
The Blazers were eliminated from the tournament and finished 5-10-2 overall.
The best scoring chance of regulation came with 1:30 remaining when Elms College junior midfielder Jack Paulo III (Chicopee, MA) blasted a shot just over the crossbar from 20 yards out.
Both teams had a pair of opportunities each to end the game in the second overtime, but neither could cash in.
Elms College freshman midfielder Justin Pearson (Torrington, CT) sent a beautiful pass that went untouched across the goal mouth just 90 seconds into the second overtime stanza.
Just 90 seconds later, the Blazers had another chance to net the game-winner.
Freshman midfielder Courtney Johnson (Belchertown, MA) collected a pass inside the penalty area, broke past two defenders and rifled a shot just over the crossbar from 10 yards out.
Maine-Farmington then responded with two beautiful scoring chances of its own in the final three minutes.
With 3:03 remaining, Doolittle picked up a loose ball following a scramble deep inside the penalty area and fired a one-timer that just missed the near post.
Tatarczuk nearly ended it for the Beavers with 20 seconds remaining, but his shot sailed just over the crossbar from the top of the 18-yard box.