Stony Brook Locks Up Top Seed In The America East Men’s Soccer Tournament With 2-0 win Over UMBC
– Stony Brook Athletics
Stony Brook – For just the second time in program history the Stony Brook men’s soccer team (9-5-3, 4-2-1 AE) will head into the America East Tournament as the top seed after a 2-0 triumph over UMBC (5-9-3, 0-7 AE) on Wednesday night.
Anatol’s Reaction
“I thought it was a really good performance,” said head coach Ryan Anatol. “We knew it was going to be a difficult game. UMBC is very talented team but our guys turned in a great effort and were rewarded with the top seed in the America East Playoffs. We will rest up and prepare for our semifinal match next Wednesday.”
Highlights
- As he has done all season long, junior defender Danny Espinoza (East Meadow, N.Y.) caused problems in the attack. Espinoza took a feed from junior Thibault Duval (Liege, Belgium) on an overlap and found freshman midfielder Mark Irvine (Southampton, England) alone in the 18-yard box. Irvine composed himself and side-footed into the far post for his first career goal to give the Seawolves a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.
- Stony Brook took a 2-0 lead in the 34th minute on a beautifully-designed set piece. Duval rolled a ball to the penalty spot for sophomore Serge Gamwanya (Trondheim, Norway) who curled around the defense and hammered it home for his third goal of the year.
- The Seawolves didn’t sit on their two-goal lead in the second half, but instead came out attacking behind junior forward Vince Erdei (Budapest, Hungary). His first chance came on the counter as he dribbled around the defender and walked in on goal before firing high.
- Erdei had another chance minutes later after receiving a pass from Gamwanya. Again he beat the defender by cutting on to his left foot but sailed his shot high from 12 yards out.
- Junior goalkeeper Tom McMahon (Nassau Bay, Texas) thwarted off UMBC’s final attack with eight minutes remaining holding a low, hard shot from 25 yards out as two UMBC forwards waited eagerly on a rebound.
Notes
- Stony Brook assures a spot in the semifinals for the first time since 2012, where they fell to UMBC 1-0.
- The Seawolves clinch the top seed in the America East Tournament for just the second time in program history, the first occuring in 2005. That team went on to win the first conference title in school history.
- Stony Brook outshot UMBC 10-9 for the match and 5-3 in shots on goal.
- Erdei had a team-high four shots.
- McMahon, with the help of stellar play from senior center backs Lars Togstad (Trondheim, Norway) and Tavares Thompson (Kingston, Jamaica), notched his second consecutive shutout and his seventh of the season. The seven clean sheets are the most for a Stony Brook team since 2010.
- Duval’s two assists moved him into the team lead in points with 15. He finishes the regular-season with six goals and three assists. His 11 career assists are tied-for-ninth in program history.
- Stony Brook honored its three seniors pregame in Thompson, Eduardo Valle (Miami, Fla.) and Kofi Ramirez Osei-Tutu (Trondheim, Norway).
Up Next
Stony Brook, by way of earning the top seed, advances to the semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The Seawolves will await the winner of No. 4 New Hampshire and No. 5 Hartford, which will face off Saturday in Durham, N.H.