Wildcats are Back-to-Back National Champions

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte rode the strength of All-Tournament goalkeeper Colin Starr with penalty kick stops on the last two rounds as the Wildcats defeated Berkeley College (NJ) 4-3 on Monday afternoon. 

With the win, Johnson & Wales repeats as USCAA Men’s Division II Soccer Champions by defeating the same Berkeley squad they did in 2022. 

The Wildcats outshot the Knights 21-9, including a 11-0 advantage in shots on goal. Berkeley’s goalie Victor Batista was stellar in regulation stopping all 11 shots, including eight of those in the second half and overtime periods. 

In penalty kicks, each team scored on their first two shots before Batista stopped the third attempt for Johnson & Wales. Esteban Pedrueza scored for Berkeley to put them up 3-2. Antonio Terranova answered for Johnson & Wales-Charlotte, while Starr stopped the fourth attempt for Berkeley to even the shootout. 

Tournament MVP Andrew Fanelli gave Johnson & Wales-Charlotte the advantage with his tally and Starr snuffed out the final attempt to give the Wildcats their second straight title.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Central Maine CC: Ivan Domingues

Penn State Brandywine: Chris Maneul

Berkeley: Esteban Pedrueza, Victor Batista, Alan Martinez, Marco DiSilva

Johnson & Wales-Charlotte: Dylan Steeves, Lucas Lesh, Evan Retzlaff, Collin Starr

Tournament MVP: JWU-Charlotte: Andrew Fanelli