DALLAS, Pa. (November 6, 2021)  – Senior Mason Boenning's sent a ball into the left half of the goal and senior Aedan Borioitti made a diving stop in the fourth round of a penalty shootout to send the Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team on to the NCAA Division III Championship following a scoreless draw with the Misericordia University Saturday in the MAC Freedom Championship, contested at Mangelsdorf Field.

After neither side was able to break through in regulation or the two overtime sessions, the teams took to penalties to determine the advancing team. Setting up on the far side of the field, diagonally opposite the Stevens bench, senior Jay Poskitt began the shootout, converting into the right half of the net. Logan Moore followed for the hosts and converted his attempt. Junior Bruno Andino followed and put Stevens ahead with a strike that tucked inside the left post. The Cougars' Max Gariano converted his try to again deadlock the squads, before the tide turned in the third round.

Senior Sean Masur put Stevens back in front, however, Branden Ebersole's attempt rang off the crossbar. With his team up by one Boenning took his turn and beat Andew Daubenspeck to push the Ducks' lead to two. With the season in the balance, senior Aedan Boriotti denied Trent Wall, diving to his left to push away the shot, to spark a wild celebration just inside the 18.

The victory was the sixth straight for the Ducks, who moved to 12-6-2 on the year and captured their first conference championship since 2018. The Ducks are the first #4 seed to win the MAC Freedom title since 2011. 

Sophomore Fritz Kabeiseman was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after helping the Ducks post three clean sheets in their march to the program's first championship in the MAC Freedom. Stevens took to pitch four times in the last eight days to secure the conference crown.

Boriotti finished with one save in posting his seventh clean sheet of the season. 

Daubenspeck made 10 saves for Misericordia, who moved to 12-4-1, as the match officially went down as a draw.

The contest nearly ended in the first overtime period. An indirect free kick was awarded for a dangerous play twenty seconds into the first extra period. Alexei King took the kick and directed a service into the 18. The Cougars' Drew Weaver appeared to head the ball into the right corner of the goal, however, the referee immediately waved the goal off, citing that the Misericordia player had, in fact, not made contact with the ball. An indirect kick must be touched by another player before it can go into the goal. Weaver, who then took his jersey off following the play, was then shown a yellow card for his celebration. 

Stevens controlled play throughout the match, finishing with a 28-9 advantage in shots and a 12-5 margin in corners. The 28 shots matched a season high for the Ducks and the team's 12 corners were the most for the team since earning 13 in an Empire 8 Conference victory over Elmira on Oct. 14, 2017. The 28 shots conceded by Misericordia marked a season high. The Ducks outshot the Cougars 6-0 over the two overtime periods.

Turning Point

• Stevens was awarded a penalty shot in the 104th minute for a foul drawn by Andino in the scoring area.
• Senior Leo Musacchia took the penalty shot, which was saved by Daubenspeck. 
• The Ducks maintained possession and earned a corner kick and a brilliant header by junior Michael Gomez was just pushed aside to keep the teams deadlocked.

Inside the Numbers

• Senior Adam Silva finished with a match-high six shots, while Masur and Andino fired off four shots each. Anthony Yarabinee had three to pace Misericordia.
• The result moved the Ducks' record against Misericordia to 0-1-2. Each of the three meetings has gone to extra time and the teams have combined for just one goal in over 300 minutes of action.
• Each side committed 23 fouls and five yellow cards, four of which were shown to Misericordia.
• Stevens won its first conference championship on the road since besting the Empire 8 field in Ithaca, New York, in 2015.

Unsung Heroes

• The defensive group has conceded just one goal over its last 574:16.

From the Sidelines - Head Coach Dale Jordan

• "Wow! What a week! Incredible from the guys and a testament to their character and they have been rewarded for their hard work."
• "We are excited to be back in the NCAA's and competing on the national stage again."
• "None of this would have been possible without the incredible support from the Stevens Athletics department. Special thanks has to go to Chris Koch for his tireless work, passion, and energy to prepare and teach our student-athletes. Our volunteer coaches, Pat and Duncan, are incredible; they give up so much of their free time to support our guys on and off the pitch. We have the best athletic trainer in the country - Allie Mac performed miracles getting some key players back at the right time of the season - her work was vital to us winning this conference title. Also a massive shout out to our mental skills coach, Jacqueline Douglas, for her tireless work with our guys. And of course, none of this is possible without a squad of driven, dedicated , fun, and awesome student-athletes who balance an incredibly difficult academic schedule and still perform to their maximum on the field."

Up Next

• Men's Soccer now awaits its NCAA placement, which it will learn via Monday's selection show.
• Stevens is 2-2-1 over its last two trips to the NCAA Tournament.

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