Newbury Advances Past Men's Soccer on Penalty Kicks
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | OT2 | OT3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbury (12-8) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
Elms (8-11) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)
CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's soccer team had their 2015 season come to a close, falling to visiting Newbury College, 3-2, on penalty kicks, in the New England Collegiate Conference semifinals, hosted at Leary Field Friday night.
The Blazers broke a scoreless tie in the 19th minute of play as senior Safa Saady (Baghdad, Iraq) chipped a ball past the Newbury defense, finding sophomore Donald Whittle (Somers, Conn.), who ripped a shot past Nighthawks freshman goalkeeper Jarrod Smith (Watertown, N.Y.) to give Elms a 1-0 advantage.
Just over three minutes later, the Nighthawks found their first equalizer as senior Ethan Forrest (East Bridgewater, Mass.) converted off a pass from fellow senior Emmett Dixon (Monrovia, Liberia), making it a 1-1 game. The contest remained tied heading into the intermission.
With 27:50 remaining in regulation, Elms regained control of the scoreboard, earning a free kick deep in the Nighthawks zone. On the attempt, Whittle fired the ball into the upper corner of the net, staking the Blazers to a 2-1 lead.
At the 7:29 mark of the second half, Newbury evened the score again as sophomore Preston Kar (Monrovia, Liberia) pursued a deep ball in the Blazers box, and Elms senior keeper Christina Kostka (Oxford, Conn.) came out of his net and challenged Kar, who lifted a shot over the head of Kostka, sending the match into overtime.
The teams battled through tow overtime periods, resulting in penalty kicks to decide who advanced to the NECC Championship game. Whittle and freshman Anthony Romei (Enfield, Conn.) delivered for the Blazers, while Dixon and Kar scored for Newbury. On the final attempts, Smith denied Elms senior Connor O'Grady (Somers, Conn.), and then junior Prince Boateng (Fairfield, Conn.) tallied the game-winning goal for the Nighthawks.
Newbury edged the Blazers in the shot column, 19-15, during the contest. Kostka made a season-high 11 saves for Elms, while Smith stopped seven shots for Newbury.
The Blazers wrapped up their action for the 2015 season. The Nighthawks advance to the NECC Championship game to face top-seeded Daniel Webster College Sunday afternoon.
ELMS SOCCER
