No. 3 Men’s Soccer Advances to First-Ever NCAA Division III Championship with 2-0 Win Over No. 1 Lesley University

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The third-seeded Elms College men's soccer team posted a 2-0 victory over top-seeded Lesley University to capture the program's first-ever New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) championship and earn the team's first-ever bid to the NCAA Division III Championship on Sunday afternoon at Edward Field on the campus of Buckingham Browne and Nichols in Cambridge, Mass.

With the win, Elms has now won five straight to improve to 11-7-2 overall and has currently set the program's third highest win total, and recorded the team's most wins since 2004. The Blazers now await their NCAA Division III Championship First Round opponent which will be announced on Monday, Nov. 5 during the selection show at 1:00 p.m.

Lesley moves to 12-5-2 on the season and awaits either an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament or a birth in the 2012 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship tournament.

After a scoreless tie through the first 45 minutes of play that saw the Lynx own a slight advantage in shots (7-4), Elms' freshman defender Connor O'Grady (Somers, Conn.) put the Blazers on the board in the 57^th minute of action when he converted a direct kick from 25 yards out, sending the ball sailing into the top right corner of the net with what proved to be the game-winner.

After a shot by Lesley's Herbin Berreondo (Brighton, Mass.) went high over the crossbar, Elms' junior forward Ziggy Jonathan (Burundi, Africa) found himself alone deep in Lynx territory and after a failed attempt by Lesley to safely get the ball back to the keeper, Jonathan controlled a loose ball in the box and drilled in the Blazers' second goal of the game in the 86^th minute.

The Lynx had one last opportunity to stage a comeback but Blazers' freshman goalkeeper Christian Kostka (Oxford, Conn.) who played the second half between the pipes and recorded three saves, turned away Ryan Richardson's (Santa Barbara, Calif.) offering to clinch the shutout victory.

Connor O'Grady had two of Elms' six shots on net, while Richardson led the Lynx in defeat with two shots on goal of his own.

Lesley goalkeeper Nigel Leahy (New Paltz, N.Y.) made four saves in the loss, while Elms' freshman goalkeeper Nicholson Pennant (Kingston, Jamaica) made three saves in the first 45 minutes of play.

Connor O'Grady joined senior forward Tavish Leland (Bridgton, Maine) and freshman midfielder Gerard Lawler (Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia) as all-tournament selections, and junior forward Adam O'Grady (Somers, Conn.) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP).