By Joe Ruby
Writer
The men’s soccer team saw its season come to a close two weeks ago as the men fell in overtime to host Penn 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Bison finish the year 10-9-2.
The deciding goal came 1:38 into the first overtime period. Zach Barnett of Penn lofted the ball into the 18. Both teams attempted to play the ball, but Christian Barreiro earned a throw-in deep into Bison territory, and ended the game by firing a shot past Bison goalkeeper Marc Hartmann ’12 to clinch the victory for the Quakers.
“I thought we played well,” forward Brendan Burgdorf ’13 said. “Penn was a very good Ivy League team, and it took them almost 100 minutes to score on us.”
During the scoreless regulation, both defenses shined, led by goalkeepers Hartmann and Ben Berg. Both teams had chances to score in the first half stopped by diving keepers, and the Bison’s defense held strong as Penn gained momentum in the second half. In the second half, Penn out-shot the Bison seven to two and earned four corner kicks while the Bison had none.
The loss marked only the second time this season the Bison failed to score.
Burgdorf ended the season with a team-high six goals, while Tommy McCabe ’11 had three goals and 10 assists for a team-high 16 points. Next year’s squad will return eight of 11 starters, saying goodbye to McCabe, Ross Liberati ’11 and Travis Rand ’11. This group of seniors enjoyed 44 wins, three Patriot League Tournament appearances, and two Patriot League Championships.
In the second round of the NCAA tournament, No. 2 Maryland defeated Penn 4-0. The Quakers finished their season with a record of 13-6-0.