Third-seeded Stony Brook and fifth-seeded New Hampshire each earned shutout victories Saturday evening and advanced to the semifinals of the America East Men's Soccer Championship for the second straight season.
Stony Brook (10-6-3) kept alive its hopes for a second consecutive America East Championship with an impressive 2-0 victory over No. 6 Vermont (7-8-4) at LaValle stadium. After playing to a scoreless draw in its meeting with Vermont during the regular season, it was clear that Stony Brook wanted to attack early in the game. The Seawolves aggressive mindset was rewarded in the 20th minute, when America East All-Conference Second-Team selection Raphael Abreu gave Stony Brook the lead with his sixth goal of the season.
Following the opening goal, Vermont began to attack with greater resolve, but was unable to get the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Stefan Manz. Manz recorded his eighth shutout of the season, making four saves to help his team advance. Stony Book sealed the victory in the 82nd minute, as sophomore forward Berian Gobeil netted his sixth goal of the season to clinch the match up with UMBC.
New Hampshire (8-5-5) pulled off an upset in the quarterfinal round of the America East Championship, as the Wildcats won 1-0 at No. 4 Binghamton (6-7-4). When these teams met in the regular-season finale, it was Binghamton that came away victorious by a 1-0 score. This game featured the same defensive intensity that the previous meeting did, as neither team created many chances throughout the course of the game. In fact, the lone score of the game was an own goal in the 62nd off a header from a Binghamton defender that found its way into the net.
As it has throughout the season, the New Hampshire defense proved to be difficult to break down. America East Goalkeeper of the Year Colin O’Donnell recorded his eighth shutout of the season, making two key saves to help pull out the victory. The 1-0 victory marks the ninth consecutive game that the UNH defense has limited its opponent to one goal or less.
The semifinals will take place Wednesday with Stony Brook traveling to No. 2 UMBC and New Hampshire visiting No. 1 Boston University. Both games will be at 7 p.m.
On the final day of the regular season, UMBC pulled out a 1-0 victory at Stony Brook to clinch a bye to the semifinal round. UMBC and Stony Brook met in the 2009 America East Championship game, with the Seawolves earning the 2-0 win to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
New Hampshire gave Boston University its lone loss during conference play when the Wildcats earned a thrilling 2-1 (2OT) home victory. In the win, America East All-Conference Rookie-Team selection Steven Palumbo netted the game-winning goal in the 109th minute.