Vermont and Binghamton will play for the America East men’s soccer title after both teams won thrilling semifinal matches Wednesday night.
Bernard Yeboah scored just minutes into overtime to lift second-seeded Vermont to a 2-1 win over third-seeded UMBC while Logan Roberts’ 80th minute score propelled fifth-seeded Binghamton to a 1-0 win over top-seeded Albany.
The Catamounts and Bearcats will decide the 2015 America East title on Sunday at Vermont’s Virtue Field with game time set for 12:05 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPN3 and WatchESPN domestically and AmericaEast.TV internationally.
America East Men’s Soccer Championship Semifinals
#2 Vermont 2, #3 UMBC 1 (OT) - Box Score
- Bernard Yeboah sent Vermont to its first America East men’s soccer championship game since 2007 with his goal 2:52 into overtime as the Catamounts beat three-time reigning league champion UMBC, 2-1, in the conference tournament semifinals Wednesday evening.
- Brian Wright, a first-team All-Conference forward, set up the game winner and scored Vermont’s first goal.
- The two teams played an even first half and held each other off the scoreboard.
- Wright started the scoring just 3:18 into the second half when Stefan Lamanna, a second-team All-Conference selection, created a turnover at midfield and sent a long service ahead to Wright, who beat UMBC goalkeeper Billy Heavner to put the Catamounts up 1-0.
- UMBC, which was 6-0-1 in its last seven tournament games, tied it up in the 65th minute on a free kick from Michael Scott.
- Scott, a first-team All-America East midfielder, blasted a free kick from 25 yards out and saw it deflect off a Vermont defender and into the net.
- Both teams had other chances in the second half with seven shots apiece, but neither squad scored again and the game went to overtime.
- Yeboah ended the game less than three minutes into the extra session, taking a long feed from Wright, beating his man and sending the ball into the net with his left foot.
- Greg Walton made six saves in net for the Catamounts to record the shutout.
- Heavner made five stops for UMBC, which ends its season 11-6-3 on year after making it all the way to the Final Four.
#5 Binghamton 1, #1 Albany 0 - Box Score
- Binghamton’s Logan Roberts scored in the 80th minute to send his team to its first America East championship game in seven years as the Bearcats knocked off Albany, 1-0, in the America East men’s soccer semifinals Wednesday.
- Albany, the America East regular-season champion, outshot Binghamton, 18-11, but Bearcat goalkeeper Robert Moewes, the America East Goalkeeper of the Year, made eight saves to record his sixth shutout of the year.
- The Great Danes had several scoring opportunities throughout the game but were thwarted by Moewes each time.
- Binghamton, which only had three shots on goal all game, capitalized on one of those chances in the 80th minute.
- Harrison Weilbacher, an America East All-Rookie selection, took a free kick from 45 yards out and found the head of Tucker Sandercock, who redirected the ball to Roberts.
- Roberts found himself in all alone on Albany goalkeeper Danny Vitiello and beat him low to the right.
- Albany held a 12-1 advantage on corner kicks, but could not convert.
- The Bearcats will be making their seventh all-time championship game appearance.