Men's Soccer | 11/16/2024 6:48:00 PM
BABSON PARK, MA – The No. 11 Babson Beavers broke a scoreless tie late in the second half as it slipped past the St. John Fisher University men's soccer team 1-0 on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship at Hartwell-Rogers Field.
The Cardinals, who reached the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history, closed the season 11-5-5. Babson (15-1-6) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 with the victory and faces Wesleyan at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
"I am extremely proud of our group," head coach Jack Burgasser said. "We left everything out there and put all the chips in the middle of the table. We can walk away with our heads held high knowing we went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country."
Following a free kick deep in the defensive third, Babson senior Liam Rhatigan flicked a long pass from graduate student Marco Cerezo (Malaga, Spain) toward Donaldson, who drove into the box before sliding a pass across the front of the goal for Gutierrez. He one-touched it past St. John Fisher goalkeeper Christian Burkhart for his fifth goal of the year at the 81:20 mark.
The Cardinals logged just four shots (three on goal) in the contest. Babson took 16 shots and put more than half of them on goal.
Burkhart, who entered the NCAA Tournament with the most shutouts in the country (13), made a season-high eight saves.
"He is incredibly special," Burgasser said of Burkhart. "He's a young man from the Rochester area. He put up some incredible statistics for the program."
The Cardinals came close on two of their first-half chances, but Babson goalkeeper Walker White made fantastic efforts to keep the game tied. He punched away a 23-yard free kick by senior Joey Avallone that was headed for the upper right corner in the 23rd minute and then backtracked to push senior Adam Grover's shot from distance along the left sideline just over the crossbar in the 31st minute.
White recorded his 10th shutout of the season.
Fisher Season Notes
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The Cardinals' 11 wins this season are their most Burgasser.
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The Cardinals' 11 wins are the second most by a team in program history. The 2007 team holds the program record for single-season wins (12).
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The Cardinals entered the NCAA Tournament on a nine-game unbeaten streak. They had outscored their opponents 18-1 in that run, which began after an Oct. 5 loss at home to Russell Sage.
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The Cardinals allowed the fewest goals (11) in the Empire 8 this season. Entering the tournament, Fisher hadn't allowed a goal since its 3-1 win over Houghton on Oct. 16 (six games).
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Burkhart had 13 shutouts this season — currently the most by a collegiate goalkeeper at any level this season (Division I, Division II and Division III). He finished first in the Empire 8 with 79 saves.
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The Cardinals won the Empire 8 regular-season and tournament titles.
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