Men's Soccer Battles Back, Falls in Shootout to End Season

BEVERLY, Mass. – Sophomore Douglas Enga's (Syosset, N.Y.) kick in the fifth round of penalty kicks sent Springfield College into the championship game of the 2015 ECAC Division III New England Men's Soccer Tournament as the Pride advanced with a 5-3 edge over Wentworth Institute of Technology. The game officially ended as a 2-2 draw after neither team would score in the two overtime periods.

The third-seeded Pride stand at 15-4-2 and will square off against top-seeded and defending champion Endicott, which tied Castleton by a 1-1 score and advanced 4-2 on penalty kicks, Sunday at 2:00. The Leopards finish the season at 15-5-1, tying the program's single season record for victories.

Springfield nearly scored in the third minute of play however sophomore Curtis Bolduc's (South Windsor, Conn.) bit ricocheted off the post.

The two teams would battle back and forth for the remainder of the half but neither could find the back of the net. Wentworth had a 6-5 edge on shots through the first 45:00.

In the 50th minute a foul was committed by a Leopard player in the box, which resulted in a penalty kick attempt for the Pride. Senior Connor Archambault (Torrance, Calif.) stepped up to take the shot, which was saved by Leopard freshman Matthew Sekerak (Winthrop, Maine). However, the rebound came out to freshman Keon Haji (Shrewsbury, Mass.) who found the back of the net at 49:52.

Springfield doubled its lead in the 65th minute. Shortly after a Leopard corner kick, the ball was cleared out. Bolduc would send a pass to junior forward Luke Alvaro (Chicopee, Mass.), who took one touch and found the back of the net at 64:43.

The Leopards began their comeback, when, after a long throw in that was batted around in the Springfield defensive zone, senior David Cook (Waterville, Maine) came up with the ball and fed classmate Max Hilchuk (Wethersfield, Conn.) who fired a shot to the back left of the net at 68:27.

Just over four minutes later, Wentworth would get the equalizer, thanks in part to a Pride miscue. A ball was headed back in the direction of senior keeper Billy Schmid (Wethersfield, Conn.) but would hit the post and come back out. Cook found the loose ball and scored at 72:48.

After neither team would score during the remainder of regulation and through two overtimes, the game would end in a draw and penalty kicks were used to decide who advanced to the finals. Springfield switched keepers from Schmid to junior Zach Richard (Millbury, Mass.) at the start of the first round.

Sophomore Ryan Elster (Sutton, Mass.) kicked first for Springfield and found the back of the net. In the bottom of the round, senior Sam Martins (Dartmouth, Mass.) – who excelled in penalty kicks throughout his career – evened the score at 1-all. Sophomore Tim Wood (Derry, N.H.) and senior Alberto Benhamu (Caracas, Venezuela) would match kicks to make it 2-all, however in the third round, Springfield freshman Brad Deckel (Lansdale, Pa.) gave the Pride a 3-2 lead after sophomore Emmett Basaca's (San Diego, Calif.) bid was denied.

The fourth round saw Alvaro and Hilchuk trade made kicks to make it 4-3 before Enga sent Springfield into the championship game with his fifth-round kick.

In the contest, Wentworth held a 23-19 shot advantage and an 8-2 edge on corner kicks. Schmid and Sekerak each made a dozen saves.