HOBOKEN, NJ (November 5, 2005) – Junior Nick Gkionis (Jackson, NJ) scored the game-winning goal with 1:22 remaining in the second overtime of the Skyline Conference championship game in lifting the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s soccer team to its third straight league title with a thrilling 1-0 victory over second-seeded U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at DeBaun Field on Saturday. The Ducks, who have won four of the last five Skyline crowns, advance to the NCAA Division III Championship for the third straight year and the fourth time in program history. In 2004, Stevens reached the Second Round of the NCAA tourney before suffering a 2-1 loss in overtime to Richard Stockton.
The Ducks, which have now won 33 straight Skyline Conference games, will learn of their 2005 NCAA First Round opponent on Sunday evening.
On the winning goal, Gkionis lined up a shot from 25 yards out at the top of the box that deflected off a Mariners’ defender and snuck inside the left post just past a diving attempt by junior goalkeeper Joseph Halverson.
Halverson came up big in net for the Mariners throughout the game as he totaled eight saves. Junior goalkeeper Chris Celentano (Newton, NJ) of Stevens was not tested nearly as much and only had to make two saves as the Ducks held a 26-9 advantage in shots. Stevens also held a 10-1 differential in corner kicks.
The Ducks had several good scoring chances in the contest. In the first half, senior Brian Marks (Yardley, PA) rifled a shot from 30 yards out on the left side that hit the crossbar. With just over 27 minutes remaining in the second half, senior Steve Liebezeit (Pompton Lakes, NJ) hit the right post with a header after Halverson made a sparkling save on a header from inside the box by junior Chris McGreevy (Rochester Hills, MI). Then, with 7:44 to play in regulation, Gkionis hit the crossbar with a header.
Following a scoreless regulation, neither team managed much offense in the first 10-minute overtime as Stevens and USMMA combined for four shots. In the second extra session, the Ducks attempted only one shot prior to Gkionis’s eighth goal of the year. The Mariners had no shots in the second overtime.
