No. 4 Stevens Falls in NCAA Second Round to No. 7 York
Rob Kulish
Seventh-ranked York College (Pa.) defeated fourth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology, 2-1, in overtime Saturday night at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J.
With the win, the Spartans advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and improve to 19-2-1 overall. Stevens ends its season with a mark of 17-2-1.
After 90 minutes saw the two teams tied at one apiece, York notched the game-winner just 33 seconds into the extra period when sophomore forward Brandon Saberton (Wilmington, Del.) put a shot in the lower-left corner of the goal after a feed from senior midfielder Tobi Iguade (Bowie, Md.). Iguade slipped the ball into Saberton who shot from the right side of the box across the mouth of the goal and in.
Saberton also tied the game for the Spartans at 75:55, putting away a short cross from Austin Johnson (Avalon, N.J.). The two tallies were number eight and nine on the year for Saberton.
Stevens came out and controlled the run of play early in the first half, getting several good chances before taking a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. On the play, senior forward
Stephen Dunbar (Johns Creek, Ga.) received a pass on the left side from senior midfielder
Curtis Stecyk (Niwot, Colo.). Dunbar touched several times before hitting a high-arching shot over York goalkeeper Brad Schmidt (Moorestown, N.J.) and into the upper-right 90 for his seventh goal of the year.
Over the next five minutes, Stevens continued to pressure the Spartans, but York slowly gained traction and fought back as the game moved all over the field.
The two teams went into the locker room with the Ducks holding a 1-0 lead. Each team took six shots, but York held a 5-2 margin in corners.
The Spartans came out in the second and held an advantage in ball control and field position before netting the equalizer.
The Spartans finished with a 17-10 margin in shots and a 6-4 edge in corners.
The loss for Stevens marks the end of eight great careers – goalkeeper
Kyle DeKlerk (Worcester, Mass.), back
Leonardo Casas (Kearny, N.J.), back
Jasim Mobaidin (College Park, Md.), midfielder
Curtis Stecyk, midfielder
Edward Rupp (Sayville, N.Y.), forward
Stephen Dunbar, goalkeeper
Paul Killian (Ellicott City, Md.), midfielder
Christian Grapel (Grass Valley, Calif.) and back
Zeke Hemme (Lousville, Ky.). The group put together a remarkable run of four Empire 8 titles, four NCAA Tournament appearances, six NCAA Tournament wins and an overall mark of 68-11-6.