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Men's Soccer 10.31
2
Suffolk SUF (10-5-4, 5-2-2)
2
Western New Eng. WNE (6-6-5, 5-1-1)
Suffolk SUF
(10-5-4, 5-2-2)
2
Final
2
Western New Eng. WNE
(6-6-5, 5-1-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 OT 3 F
Suffolk SUF 0 2 0 0 0 2
Western New Eng. WNE 1 1 0 0 0 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Golden Bears Advance to CCC Championship Game on 4-3 Shootout Win

Springfield, Mass. (October 31, 2023) - The Golden Bears welcomed the Rams of Suffolk University to Springfield for the semifinal round of the CCC Men's Soccer Tournament. The Golden Bears would go up 2-0. However, the Rams would battle back and tie the game with less than a minute left in regular time. The game would go to a shootout, and the Golden Bears would get the win, 4-3 in penalty kicks.

Records:

  • Western New England: 6-6-6 (5-1-2)
  • Suffolk University: 10-5-4 (4-2-2)

How it Happened:

With Xander Balog and Braylon Casinghino in goal for the Rams and Golden Bears, respectively, the game got underway. The game got started, and the Golden Bears already started putting pressure on the Rams. Mike Riley had the first shot in the 4th minute of play. Diego Pierantozzi answered that shot, with one to the left of the goal in the 5th minute. Sean Lanzillo then had a shot clang off the crossbar in the 10th minute, and Matt Spruill had a shot blocked. The teams would send the ball back and forth before a foul was called on Suffolk just outside the penalty area. With multiple Golden Bears standing over the ball, Mike Riley would take quick steps up to the ball and fire a left-footed shot into the top left corner of the goal to give the Golden Bears the 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. Mike Riley would follow that up with a shot that was blocked in the 23rd minute. Then, Damon Smargon would have the first shot on goal for the Rams. Casinghino would make the save. Mike Milazzo followed that up with a shot in the 29th minute that Balog had to save to keep the deficit at one. After almost ten minutes of back and forth with no shots to show for it, Brandon Lewis had a shot that was positioned at the bottom right corner of the net, saved by Balog. That was quickly followed by two shots from Milazzo that were off-target and one by Lewis that went wide. The shot from Lewis would be the final one of the first half, and the teams would go to the break with WNE winning 1-0. The first half saw the Golden Bears lead on the stat sheet in shots 10-2, shots on goal 3-1, and fouls 7-5. The Rams led in saves 2-1, and neither team had a corner kick.

After the break, the Golden Bears kicked off. The 46th minute immediately saw action, with AJ Quiterio sending a shot at Balog that had to be saved on the bottom left side of the net. Then, in the 47th minute, Malik Serisser had a throw-in from the left side of the pitch. It sailed into the penalty box area, and Sam Riley was able to send it into the back of the net. The Golden Bears now had a 2-0 lead. Mike Milazzo followed the goal with a hard shot in the 48th minute that Balog had to make a save on. The 59th minute saw the Rams start to flip the script and put more shots on the Golden Bears. Francisco Valck had a shot go wide of the goal. Serisser followed that with a shot off-target in the 62nd minute. After a free-kick shot in the 67th minute from the Rams led to a handball by the Golden Bears, the Rams were awarded a penalty kick.

Pierre Willis took the penalty kick for the Rams. Casinghino was able to get a hand on it, but the ball still got past and into the back of the net. The Rams had cut the deficit to one. The Golden Bears answered with two shots on goal. One from Lewis in the 68th minute and one from Serisser in the 71st minute. Balog saved both shots. Jake Thibodeau would then have a shot in the 73rd minute go high and wide of the net. The 75th minute saw the Rams have a look at a wide-open net. Jeremy Cooke took the shot, but Lanzillo got in the way to make the team save.

The ball went to Mateo Simonini, who had a shot blocked by the Golden Bears' defense, and that opportunity finished. The 77th minute saw Matthew Belluardo go for goal, but Casinghino made the save. Lewis would answer with a shot in the 80th minute for the Golden Bears. It traveled off-target and out of play. The 83rd minute saw Smargon go for goal for the Rams, but it went wide. Then, Shay O'Neill sent a hard shot at Balog, who saved the shot. The game entered its final minute of play, and the Rams were given a corner kick. The ball was kicked into the box, it bounced around, and Tommy Handelsman would send the ball into the back of the Golden Bear net. The Rams had tied up the game. Quiterio had the final shot of the second half, and it went up and over the crossbar. The teams were going to overtime. After regular time, the Golden Bears led on the stat sheet in shots 20-10, shots on goal 7-5, and fouls 12-10. The Rams led in saves 7-3 and corners 3-1. 

The game then had two 10-minute overtimes. The first overtime saw the Rams have the majority of the possession. Brady Sorensen sent a shot at Casinghino, which was saved. There were no other shots during that first overtime half. The second overtime half saw the Golden Bears retain most of the possession. Quiterio and Spruill both had shots blocked during that second overtime half. Neither team scored a goal, so the game went to a penalty kick shootout. In the shootout, Mike Milazzo made the first goal, and Matthew Belluardo missed for the Rams. Matt Spruill would miss the second penalty kick for the Golden Bears, and Pierre Willis would make the second Rams penalty kick. The score after two kicks was 1-1. AJ Quiterio made the third Golden Bear penalty kick. Jack Phelps answered for the Rams. Mike Riley would then make the fourth Golden Bear penalty kick, and Diego Pierantozzi missed for the Rams. The Golden Bears led 3-2. Malik Serisser then missed the fifth penalty kick for WNE, and Carter Van Buskirk made the shot for Suffolk to keep the game alive. Roger Leland would make the next Golden Bear penalty kick, and Matteo Simonini would miss the final penalty kick for the Rams. The Golden Bears won 4-3 in the shootout and are headed to the CCC Championship game.

Inside the Lines:

  • WNE hosted Suffolk University for the first semifinal game of the CCC Men's Soccer Tournament.
  • Mike Riley scored the first goal of the game on a free kick from outside the penalty area in the 17th minute. The Golden Bears led 1-0.
  • Sam Riley scored in the 47th minute on a header shot. Malik Serisser was credited with the assist. The Golden Bears had a 2-0 lead.
  • Pierre Willis scored a penalty kick goal in the 67th minute. The Golden Bears lead was 2-1.
  • Tommy Handelsman scored the Rams' second goal in the 90th minute. The score was tied at two and headed to overtime.
  • The game went to a shootout, and WNE won it, four penalty kick goals to three.
  • Xander Balog made seven saves.
  • Braylon Casinghino made three saves.

Up Next on the Schedule:

  • The Golden Bears move on to the CCC Championship game, which will be held at home, at Suprenant Field, against Roger Williams University, on Saturday, November 4. The time is to be determined.
  • That was the last game of the season for the Rams. They finished with an overall record of 10-5-4 and a conference record of 4-2-2.
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