BOSTON – No. 4 NJIT earned a trip to its first-ever #AEMSOC Championship game, where the Highlanders will travel to face No. 3 Bryant who outlasted second seeded Vermont in penalty kicks on a cold night in the #AEMSOC Semifinals Wednesday evening.
NJIT scored in the 26th minute and allowed just three Great Dane shots on goal to secure the 1-0 shutout victory over top seed UAlbany. The Highlanders look for their first-ever conference title on the road Sunday.
Bryant fell behind 1-0 but evened the score and eventually sent the contest to penalty kicks. The Bulldogs converted on all four of their attempts while Ramon Camejo made one save and UVM missed another to send Bryant to its fourth straight championship game appearance.
No. 3 Bryant will host No. 4 NJIT in the #AEMSOC Championship on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. This marks the first time since 2001 the championship game won’t feature either the No. 1 or the No. 2 Seed.
Semifinal Recap
No. 4 NJIT 1, No. 1 UAlbany 0
- NJIT grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute. Diego Rebelo took a pass and made a quick move toward the near corner of the endline before sending a cross to the middle. A charging Junee Lee snuck in front of the defense and tapped it home while sliding toward net.
- UAlbany thought they had the equalizer minutes later on a corner kick, but a Great Dane foul inside the box negated the goal.
- NJIT nearly made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute, but an offside call kept the Highlander lead at just one goal.
- In the 67th minute, UAlbany drew a free kick from 25 yards out, but the NJIT defense sent it out of the box immediately.
- The Great Danes put another tough shot on net in the 80th minute but it was blocked out of harm’s way as they were unable to break through.
- Andre Faerman made three saves to secure the shutout victory.
No. 3 Bryant 1, No. 2 Vermont 1 – Bryant Advances on PK’s 4-3
- Bryant’s best chance of the first half came in the 42nd minute as Pablo Maya sent a hard drive from outside the 18 on net, forcing Niklas Herceg to punch it over the net.
- Herceg was then forced to make a swiping save on the ensuing Nacho Vila corner kick as it nearly bounced in the net. Vermont put just one shot on net in the opening 45 minutes.
- In the 52nd minute, Mark Isong drew a foul on the inside corner of the 18 fighting to gain possession. David Ismail converted on the penalty kick for the 1-0 lead.
- Manuel Morillo tied the game up in the 61st minute. He took a pass from Maya and dribbled around one defender before slipping a ball past the charging Herceg for the goal.
- Neither team could break through in regulation or overtime, sending the contest to penalty kicks.
- Both David Ismail and Jorge Rodriquez converted on their first attempts, before Ramon Camejo came up with a diving save on UVM’s second attempt.
- Bryant converted each of its next three kicks penalty kicks, while Vermont made its next two to trail 4-3 going into the final attempts. Halim Bangura’s shot went over the net, allowing the Bulldogs to advance.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links as well as box scores, highlights and recaps following each round in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
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