Stevens Wins Eighth Consecutive Empire 8 Championship
Danny Vohden
NCAA SELECTION SHOW
The Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team continued its run of dominance over the Empire 8 Conference Saturday, knocking off Ithaca College 3-0 in the conference final.
With the win, the Ducks clinched their 12
th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament while raising their record to 12-3-2. The loss dropped Ithaca to 5-8-3.
The Bombers came out strong with a trio shots over the first 10 minutes, but Stevens' sophomore keeper
Mike Renna made the save on all three allowing the Ducks to build a lead.
Off a pass from sophomore
Nick DeFelice in the 15
th minute, junior
Carson Pryor darted up the right side of the field and beat Itahca's senior goalie Jordan Gentile one-on-one for the score. The goal was Pryor's team leading 11
th of the season while the assist was DeFelice's first.
The Ducks offense followed up with two more failed shot attempts before extending the lead in minute 41. After sophomore
Jay Mikula gained control of the ball in open space, the Stevens forward sprinted up the right side of the field past the defense before beating the goalie for the goal. The goal was Mikula's third of the season.
The lead was plenty for the Ducks defense for the remainder of the half as they held the Bombers shot-less to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
Stevens dominated play coming out of the half, firing shots on goal in the 54
th and 55
th minutes that were saved. After a third shot went wide left, the Ducks connected successfully to extend their lead to three.
Off an across the box pass from junior
Colin Phillips in the 74
th minute, junior
Joe Cellitti sent one past Gentile's diving attempt for the score. The goal was Cellitti's seventh of the season while the assist was Phillips' fourth.
The three goal lead was more than enough for the Ducks defense as they continued to control possession while limiting Ithaca's scoring chances for the remainder of the game to clinch the win.
Renna made five saves in his eighth shutout of the season, and was named the tournament's most valuable player. Renna made six saves total during the weekend and made two crucial stops against Alfred University during the Ducks penalty kick win.
The Ducks will find out their NCAA Tournament seeding during the selection show set for 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Stevens: Mike Renna (MVP), Harrison Kane, Kevin Calloway, Carson Pryor
Ithaca: Brandon Glass, Casey Williamson, AJ Wolfanger
Utica: Evan Bailey and David Abdou
Alfred: Jeff Thomas and Chris Gutierrez