Bobcats Come Up Short in Penalty Kick Shootout in USCAA National Championship Game

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|11/13/2022 9:45 PM | Kevin Turi, Sports Information Coordinator

Virginia Beach, VA-

The Bryant & Stratton College- Syracuse Men's Soccer team lost to the University of Maine- Fort Kent in a penalty kick shootout, 3-1, after 110-minutes of soccer was not enough to separate the two sides.  The loss concludes the Bobcats season with an overall record of 10-1-2.

How it happened:

The Bobcats entered the game as the #2-seed in the 2022 USCAA Division 1 Men's Soccer tournament and were faced with their most difficult test of the season in the #1-seed, University of Maine- Fort Kent Bengals.

In the first 45 minutes of the match, the Bengals certainly looked the part of the #1-seed in this year's tournament.  The Bengals were relentless in their possession and attack on the Bobcats backline.  However, the Bobcats stood their ground and excellent performances from USCAA First Team All-Americans, Giovanni Gallina, Felipe Pampolim, and Renato Filho helped the Bobcats get to the halftime break with the score 0-0.

In the second half, the Bobcats grew into the game and asserted themselves firmly into the match.  Attackers, Azinho Solomon and Shawn Altidor Viau, who have been crucial to the Bobcats offensive attack all season started to find pockets of space between the Bengals defensive lines.  With that being said, neither side was able to break the deadlock and after 90 minutes and we would head to overtime.

In the first overtime period, the Bengals looked to be the more dangerous team of the two.  Outstanding goalkeeping play from Giovanni Gallina helped to keep the Bobcats in the match.  Strong defensive performances from Jhonny Zamor and Ericles Rodrigues as well were vital to the Bobcats fighting off waves of attacks from the Bengals and pushed the game to double overtime still scoreless, 0-0.

In the second overtime period, both sides appeared to be physically exhausted and neither team created too many chances until the last minute of open play in the match.  In what can only be described as an insane sequence of events, the Bengals had shots hit off the Bobcats' goalpost not once, but twice in the matter of 10 seconds and somehow not find the back of the net.  After the second glance off the post, Gallina was able to dive on top of the ball just before a Bengals attacker tried to poke it into the back of the net.

As a result, the two sides would head to a penalty kick shootout, after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, to decide the 2022 USCAA National Champion.

Unfortunately for the Bobcats, they would not be on the winning side as they were just a year ago.  The University of Maine- Fort Kent goalkeeper, John Amoah, saved 3 of the 4 attempted penalties by the Bobcats on their way to the 3-1 victory.

The Bryant & Stratton College- Syracuse Men's Soccer team finishes the season as the Runner-Up and an overall record of 10-1-2.

"I am really proud of this team and everything that we have accomplished this season," said Head Coach Nick Dimitrievski.  "Our guys played an extraordinary game today and we have so much to be proud of.  Losing in a penalty kick shootout is always a heart-wrenching way to go down, but to reach this point 7 years in a row is an incredible feat.  I know that with time, we will be able to reflect back and recognize how we are a part of something special."

For more information on Bryant & Stratton College- Syracuse Athletics, be sure to follow us on all of our social media platforms @bscbobcatssyr.