Virginia Beach, VA- Byrant & Stratton - Syracuse Men's Soccer won their second consecutive USCAA National Championship on Sunday night at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex, defeating the University of Maine Fort Kent 3-1 in penalty kicks. The Bobcats finished the tournament with a record of 3-0.
Bryant & Stratton - Syracuse entered the tournament as the second seed after posting a 8-0-1 record in the regular season. They opened pool play with a definitive win over Mississippi University for Women, scoring 6 goals and only conceding one. Proving the Bobcats' depth as a team, senior forward, Denilson Reyes scored two goals in the second half which happened to be his first goals of the season. Bryant & Stratton played a much closer game against Paul Quinn College the following day, but still posted a shutout on their way to a 2-0 victory with goals coming from sophomore forward, Luca Natale, and junior forward, Azinho Solomon. .
Head coach, Nick Dimitrievski, led his team to another berth in the National Title game in a rematch with the University of Maine Fort Kent. The Bengals entered the tournament as the number one seed and came into the Championship game 2-0 in pool play after a 3-0 win over D'Youville College and a 7-0 win over Bryant & Stratton - Albany. The two best teams all season in DI Men's Soccer played a tight match for 110 minutes, after neither team found the back of the net in regulation. The Bobcats had a chance to end the match when a penalty kick was awarded in double overtime, but Maine Fort Kent goalkeeper, John Amoah, made an incredible save which ultimately sent the game to a penalty kick shootout. It was freshman forward, Salvatore Delorio, who buried the first goal after both teams missed their first attempts. Then junior forward, Felipe Pampolim, found the back of the net after Maine Fort Kent missed their second penalty kick attempt. The door was opened to secure the 2021 National Championship and sophomore forward, Luca Natale, delivered with a beautiful goal in the left side of the net. The star of the tournament for the Bobcats was senior goalkeeper, Babucarr Ceesay, who made two huge saves in the PK shootout and 10 saves in the tournament.
All-Tournament Team
Johnathan Padilla | Forward | Paul Quinn College
Nick Dumond | Midfielder | D'Youville College
Jake Kowalewski | Defense | D'Youville College
Levyn Benevedes | Forward | Paul Quinn College
Marcel Holness | Defense | University of Maine Fort Kent
Jaheim McIntosh | Midfielder | University of Maine Fort Kent
Adil Iggoute | Forward | University of Maine Fort Kent
Luca Natale | Forward | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Jon Stublla | Midfield | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Denilson Reyes | Forward | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Tournament MVP
Babucarr Ceesay | Goalkeeper| Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Player of the Year
Adil Iggoute | University of Maine Fort Kent
Coach of the Year
Nick Dimitrievski | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Student-Athlete of the Year
Jacob Vickers | Mississippi University for Women