Stevens Men's Soccer Wins Fourth Empire 8 Title with 1-0 Victory Over Nazareth
HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 7, 2010) – Freshman Edward Rupp scored the game-winner at 10:12 of the first half as the 15th-ranked and top seed Stevens Institute of Technology men’s soccer team defeated Nazareth College, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon in the Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Championship final at the De Baun Athletic Complex. It is the fourth-straight Empire 8 title for the Ducks who will now await their fate in the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship bracket which will be released on Monday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Stevens (14-1-3) controlled the first half of play, outshooting the Golden Flyers, 14-4, and ending the opening 45 with a 5-0 edge in corners.
The Ducks’ first offensive run of the game resulted in a shot that went wide, but the Ducks continued to possess the ball deep in the Nazareth (10-7-2) zone.
In the 11th minute, Stevens tallied with pretty display of passing. Senior Michael Quijano and junior Tarik Kramcha played nice two-man soccer on the left side around midfield. Kramcha then passed to sophomore Zach Adler in the Golden Flyer zone. Adler cut towards the middle of the field with the ball before passing to sophomore Victor Daza against the grain into the left side of the box. Daza touched once before making a beautiful cross to Rupp in front who slid in and directed the ball into the right side for the second goal of his career.
The Ducks were close to extending the lead to two with 17:11 remaining in the first, but junior goalkeeper Kyle Connolly (Stratham, N.H.) dove to his right to make a stop on a low tracer off the foot of senior Nolan Sandberg.
Nazareth’s first and only attempt on net of the opening half came when freshman Luke Elston’s (Somerset, England) header was saved by senior goalkeeper Zach Carr.
The two switched sides at half and Naz came out strong. Three minutes in, the Golden Flyers generated a corner and eventually, junior Rikesh Lad (Preston, England) ripped a shot that rang off the crossbar.
Over the next 20-plus minutes, the two teams went back and forth, using the entire length of the field but neither team was created many scoring chances as each defense was able to thwart any runs by the opposition.
With time dwindling, Nazareth attempted to put pressure on the Ducks but the Stevens defense, as it has done all year, stayed strong, and actually was able to begin several strong chances for the Ducks’ offensive unit. The best chance came with a little less than 13 minutes to play when freshman Stephen Dunbar took a pass from Sandberg and missed inches to the right.
Moments later, Sandberg broke free on his own but Connolly got his hand on the attempt and kept Nazareth in the game.
Stevens ended the game with a 21-9 edge in shots and a 7-2 advantage in corners. Connolly made 10 saves in goal for the Golden Flyers. Carr and the Stevens pitched their 15th shutout of the season as the senior made a total of four saves.
Rupp, a freshman, was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship match.
“It’s a great feeling,” Head Men’s Soccer Coach Tim O'Donohue said after the match. “This feeling never gets old and every one is unique. I am proud of our guys and am looking forward to the NCAA Tournament.”
Since its only loss of the season, Stevens has won five-straight games, outscoring the opposition, 15-1. Nazareth came into the championship match with a seven-game win streak. Its last loss was at home against the Ducks on October 3 (4-0).