(10-29-06)
Box Score
Stony Brook, N.Y. -- A second-half red card left the University of New Haven men's soccer team playing a man down for the final 14:06, and No. 1 Dowling College took advantage with a goal in the 78th minute to capture the East Coast Conference title on Sunday at Stony Brook University's Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. Goalkeeper James Hilaire (photo) made 11 saves to keep UNH in the game until the closing minutes.
New Haven finishes its season at 6-11-3 overall with the loss, while Dowling preserved its undefeated season at 18-0-1 and heads toward a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
"I thought it was a good game, obviously," said UNH head coach Matt Verni. "We just couldn't 'get over' on those guys - they're the #1 team in the country and rightly so. But to the credit of our players, at a certain point in the game we stopped playing against the #1 team in the country, and they were just another team to us. That was the mentality and energy. The red card changed the dynamic completely."
"It was pretty ideal in that we went against the strong wind in the first half and only gave up one goal," Verni said. "And then we had the advantage in the second half with it at our backs. I think the players believed that we were in the game, and we got the momentum on the penalty kick.
"Unfortunately, the momentum shifted back on the red card, and we just couldn't deal with being down a man," Verni said. "It was sort of an anti-climatic ending after a good performance by our guys. They played very gutty, hard, and intense."
Sophomore Jessey Fernandez scored the lone goal for UNH on a penalty kick, but was also whistled for the red card that left the Chargers playing a man down.
"I thought the officiating crew did a good job today," Verni said. "They were in control of the game and had good dialogue with the coaches and players. I don't know that I necessarily agreed with the red card, but with the explanation they gave me, I couldn't really argue against it either."
Freshman Carl Rydin scored his first career goal, shooting to the upper left corner off a pass from Tommy Jokela at 30:53 to give Dowling a 1-0 lead at halftime.
With the strong winds at their backs in the second half, UNH pressed forward to try to create offensive opportunities. Early in the half, Jason Zurita had a great opportunity for the Chargers on a volley shot from about six yards out, but Dowling goalkeeper William Grady made a diving save.
They finally capitalized in the 63rd minute, when the Chargers drew a foul in the box at 62:51. That gave Fernandez a penalty kick opportunity, and he put it in to tie the contest.
Nearly 15 minutes later, at 77:21, Thomas Vaaland scored for the third time this season. Morten Jensen, the ECC Player of the Year, send a free kick into the box and Vaaland put a header into the goal.
The Chargers had advanced to the ECC title game by winning penalty kicks, 4-3, after a 1-1 tie with #20 C.W. Post on Wednesday. Seven of UNH's 20 matches this season came against nationally-ranked teams, including two apiece against ECC foes Dowling and C.W. Post.
Following the match, it was announced that Fernandez was selected Second Team All-ECC, with senior defender Damien Slubowski earning Third Team All-ECC honors. UNH's Matt Verni was selected by his peers as the ECC's Coach of the Year after his team posted a 4-2-2 record in league play, earned the third seed in the conference tournament, and advanced to the championship match.
