Amherst, Mass. – Down 1-0 in the 90^th minute, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team equalized on a goal by Terry Thompson, but the Ducks' 2024 campaign eventually came to an end in a penalty kick shootout to Amherst College Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Amherst had seven shots and pair of corner kicks in the first 12:25 of action, with Stevens (12-3-5) keeper Guillermo Castaneda-Chang denying a strike from distance off the foot of Niall Murphy in the 10^th minute.

Ethen Hagen had a look from the top of the 18-yard box in the 16^th minute, but his dribbler found the waiting gloves of Amherst (12-2-3) keeper Max Landa.

Stevens conceded four corner kicks to the Mammoths between the 26^th and 28^th minute, but strong defense yielded just two off-target attempts off the set pieces. The eighth Amherst corner of the half found the head of Michael Cherico, but Castaneda-Chang went low to keep the ball out and the match scoreless.

The Ducks earned their first corner kick of the match in the 43^rd minute, but the ball did not find a Stevens jersey in or around the 18-yard box. On the ensuing counter, Castaneda-Chang came sprinting out of the box, nearly out to the center circle, terminating the Mammoth threat.

With its third corner kick of the second half and 11^th of the match, Amherst finally found the net in the 49^th minute.

The Amherst back line that had conceded just eight goals in 16 matches allowed just three off target Stevens shots over the following 40 minutes.

As the clock ticked under one minute, with the season on the line, Hagen took possession just shy of midfield, maneuvered his way up the right sideline, and crossed toward the box. The ball deflected off the foot of Ben Goldberg and rolled toward Thompson, who buried one top left corner past a diving Landa, igniting a mosh pit by the far corner flag along the Stevens sideline, and sending the game to extra time.

Amherst had the first good look of the extra session, with Castaneda-Chang diving to stop an 18-yard attempt from Cherico, bidding for his second goal of the match.

In the second extra session, mere seconds after checking back in, Goldberg nearly played hero for the Ducks, but Landa went airborne to deny his wide-angle left-footed attempt.
 
In the penalty kick shootout, Amherst, shooting first, made each of their first three attempts while Stevens had its first shot hit the post and its next two denied by Landa, giving the Mammoths the win.

Post-Match Press Conference with Head Coach Dale Jordan, senior Emerico Vespucci, and senior Luca Campbell.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Ducks finish the season 12-3-4, a .737 win percentage – the team has won at least 63.6 percent of its matches in all eight of Jordan's seasons as head coach
• The team allowed just 13 goals in 20 matches this year, 0.65 per contest. In 165 matches since Jordan took over, the team has allowed just 119 goals, 0.72 per contest.

UP NEXT
The Ducks will return to the pitch in the Fall of 2025, seeking a fifth straight MAC Freedom crown and NCAA berth.