TOWSON, Md. – Senior Alfonso DeMares scored the game’s only goal in the 56th minute as Towson University (15-4-1) won its first America East Men’s Soccer Championship with a 1-0 victory over visiting Northeastern University (13-8-0) at Towson Center Field.
With the win, Towson advances to the NCAA Division I College Cup for the first time in school history. The 48-team field will be announced Monday at 3 p.m. The Tigers were the America East runners-up in 1995, 1998 and 1999.
DeMares provided Towson with the only goal of the game when he curled a ten-yard shot past Northeastern senior goalkeeper Allan Lewis at 55:36. DeMares took a long lead pass from junior Randy Tolson along the right side. He dribbled along the goal line and curled his shot into the upper far corner of the net. The goal was the 15th of the season for DeMares, the Tigers’ career scoring leader with 45 goals and 35 assists for 125 points.
Towson nearly extended the lead to 2-0 in the 75th minute. Junior Machel Millwood blasted a ten-yard shot from point blank range but Lewis made a sprawling save to keep the Huskies within one goal.
The Huskies, who were seeded fourth in the league’s six-team tournament, thought they had tied the score at 82:54 on a goal by junior Nate Houghton. However, the goal was disallowed as Houghton was ruled offside.
Northeastern intensified the pressure in the final minutes of the game but the Tiger defense, led by senior goalkeeper Chris Hurley, held off several scoring chances. Hurley made six saves in the championship game and was named as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Hurley led the third-seeded Tigers to a 2-0 win over New Hampshire in the first round and a 2-1 win at Hartford in the semifinals.
Hurley was joined on the all-championship team by DeMares, Steve Hoeck and Tolson. Tolson was the Tigers’ leading scorer in the tournament with three goals and one assist.
The Huskies, who beat Hofstra and top-seeded Boston University to reach the championship game, placed seniors Phonetip Ketnouvong, Anders Hoyem and Lewis on the all-championship team. Lewis finished the game with four saves for Northeastern, which held a 17-16 edge in shots.
America East All-Championship Team: Ryan DiNunzio, New Hampshire; Hughroy Daley, Hofstra; Alon Lubesky, Hartford; Asef Lubesky, Hartford; Andrew Dorman, Boston University; Joachim Kaland, Boston University; Phonetip Ketnouvong, Northeastern; Anders Hoyem, Northeastern; Allan Lewis, Northeastern; Alfonso DeMares, Towson; Steve Hoeck, Towson; Randy Tolson, Towson; Most Outstanding Player – Chris Hurley, Towson.
Northeastern 0 0 - 0
Towson 0 1 - 1
SCORING
Towson - Alfonso DeMares (Randy Tolson) 55:36
SAVES: Northeastern – Allan Lewis, 4; Towson – Chris Hurley, 6
SHOTS: Northeastern 17, Towson 16
CORNER KICKS: Northeastern 5, Towson 4