Stevens Men's Soccer Overwhelms Lehman to Advance to NCAA Second Round
HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 12, 2011) – The No. 14 Stevens Institute of Technology men’s soccer team (17-2) opened the 2011 NCAA Men’s Soccer Division III Championship with a propitious 3-0 victory over Lehman College at home at the DeBaun Athletic Complex on Saturday. Empire 8 Player of the Year Zach Adler (McKinney, Texas) of Stevens scored the first goal of the day on a penalty kick and assisted on the last to lead the Ducks into the second round.
Lehman College took the opening touch of the game and sent a 60-yard shot from midfield that backed Stevens goalkeeper Paul Killian (Ellicott City, Md.) all the way up to the goal line for a reaching save as the sophomore was tested just 12 seconds into his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Lehman put another shot on goal five minutes later, but would not manage another one for the rest of the game.
With 38 minutes showing on the first half scoreboard, Victor Daza (North Plainfield, N.J.) made a nice run through the center of the field but was fouled in the box to draw both a yellow card and a penalty kick opportunity for the Ducks. Adler stepped up and buried it to give Stevens the 1-0 lead.
By a conservative estimate, the Ducks possessed the ball for 75 percent of the first half. Lehman seemed content to let Stevens control play but for the most part denied the Ducks good scoring chances in the first period while looking to counterattack with long volleys off of turnovers.
Stevens did have a couple near-misses, as Zach Bowman (La Plata, Md.) just missed the left post with one minute remaining and Ernesto Solis (Guadalajara, Mexico) was in close but had the ball blocked down in front with three minutes left. Curtis Stecyk (Boulder, Colo.) had a shot on goal as the clock hit all-zeroes to end the half.
Less than two minutes into the second, Daza and Stephen Dunbar (Johns Creek, Ga.) hooked up for a give-and-go on the left side that Dunbar was able to put away and open up a 2-0 advantage for the Ducks.
Stevens had another good opportunity for a score with 32 minutes remainnig, as Daza’s shot hit the post. The rebound bounced out and then off of the prone Lehman goaltender and back toward the open goal mouth. It nearly rolled in but the Lightning goalie was able to scamper up to retrieve it to keep it a 2-0 game.
Not long after, Adler hit Bowman in stride with a pass from 30 yards out that the senior put away to give Stevens a comfortable 3-0 lead that would stand up as the Lightning never came close to scoring again.
The Ducks will move on to take on The College at Brockport on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 5 p.m. The Golden Eagles handed the Ducks one of their two losses this year, a 2-1 double-overtime thriller on September 9. Since that day, Stevens has won 16 straight games. Sunday’s game will be played at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.