In Friday's semifinal action of the SSC Men's Soccer Championship, No. 2 Tampa breezed into Sunday's final, and No. 4 Barry notched a late goal to punch its own ticket in the title match.
Sascha Koettig was the hero for the Buccaneers, netting the game-winner with 2:17 remaining to give Barry a 1-0 upset over top-seeded Rollins. The Bucs came into the semifinal tilt having handed the Tars their lone loss of the conference regular season.
In Friday's late game, Tampa easily moved past No. 6 Nova Southeastern 3-0. Lister Warren netted two first-half goals, and Pascal Milien sealed the deal with a tally in the 72nd minute.
The Bucs and Spartans will square off with the tournament championship on the line on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Nova Southeastern won a penalty kick showdown, while Barry cruised in Tuesday's quarterfinal action of the SSC Men's Soccer Championship.
Perhaps the biggest story of Tuesday's action was No. 6 NSU's upset at No. 3 Lynn. The teams battled to a 2-2 tie after two overtimes, and ultimately, Tim Taylor nailed a penalty kick to give the Sharks a 7-6 shootout win. In regulation, Aly Hassan and Juan Rivera netted NSU's goals, both compliments of assists from Romain Onteniente. Kyle Conrad was responsible for both LU regulation tallies.
In the other quarterfinal, No. 4 Barry sailed past No. 5 Florida Tech 3-0. Mark Anderson netted the Buccaneers' first goal of the match, and then factored in the other two with assists. Rodrigo Mancenido was also credited with assists on two of the goals, with Christian Yidios netting the second score, and Kendall Sealy tallying the final goal.
The top six teams, based on points accumulated in SSC play, earned bids to the championship, and the top two seeds received byes for quarterfinal action.
Rollins (16-1-1) and Tampa (14-1-1) emerged as regular-season co-champions with a 7-1 conference record and 21 points. The Tars defeated Tampa 3-2 in the teams’ regular-season meeting to earn the No. 1 seed. Nevertheless, SSC Soccer Championship rules state that the same school cannot host the semifinals and final for both the men’s and women’s championship. The rules further state that, in odd years, the top women’s seed will host the semifinals and final, while the second highest men’s seed will host the men’s contests. By virtue of the fact that Rollins clinched the women’s title and earned the No. 1 seed, the Tar women will host the semifinals and final, while the Tar men will travel to Tampa.
Lynn and Barry finished regular-season play with identical 5-3 SSC records. The Fighting Knights earned the higher seed by defeating Barry 3-1 in the teams’ match-up. Florida Tech and Nova Southeastern also tied in the final standings with a 3-5 mark. The Panthers received the higher seed by downing the Sharks 2-0 in regular-season action.
2009 SSC MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, November 3
No. 6 Nova Southeastern 2, No. 3 Lynn 2 (2OT - NSU advances 7-6 on penalty kicks) (Game Summary)
No. 4 Barry 3, No. 5 Florida Tech 0 (Game Summary)
Semifinals – Friday, November 6 (hosted by the University of Tampa) Host Site with Live Audio and Stats
No. 4 Barry 1, No. 1 Rollins 0 (Game Summary)
No. 2 Tampa 3, No. 6 Nova Southeastern 0 (Game Summary)
Final – Sunday, November 8 (hosted by the University of Tampa)
No. 4 Barry 2, No. 2 Tampa 0 (Game Summary)