Nov. 10, 2007
Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. -
The Lafayette men's soccer team (9-3-6, 3-1-3) played to a 1-1 tie against Patriot League opponent Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. With the tie, the Leopards advance to the Patriot League Tournament for the sixth year in a row. Lafayette will be the No. 4 seed and take on Holy Cross again next weekend.
Freshman B.J. Glenn scored the lone Lafayette goal, his fifth of the season. Sophomore goalie Philip Nelson made a season-high eight saves, including two critical stops in overtime, and allowed just one goal against a Holy Cross offense that took 14 shots in the game.
Both the Crusaders and Leopards took five shots in the opening half but only Holy Cross was able to convert one of those scoring opportunities into a goal. Holy Cross got on the board when Jon Werth found the back of the net with 21:23 on the scoreboard. The half ended on a shot by Lafayette's Chad Barbieri that was stopped by Holy Cross goalie Thomas Booth to preserve his team's one goal lead heading into halftime.
Lafayette managed six shots in the second half but for the majority of play could not get on the scoreboard. Glenn took all three of his shots in the half and his final shot of the game was the one that counted. With less than eight minutes to play, he netted an unassisted goal to tie the game. Holy Cross' Paul Tearson had a shot at 86:51 but Nelson made the save, sending the game into overtime.
Nelson made another key save in the first overtime period and Lafayette's lone scoring opportunity--a shot by sophomore Kenn Stearns--sailed high of goal, forcing a second overtime. The Leopards never got another look at goal and Nelson's eighth and final save of the afternoon kept the score at 1-1.
Holy Cross finishes the season with an 8-5-4 overall record. The Crusaders' league mark of 4-0-3 means they will serve as the tournament host. The Leopards will square off against Holy Cross for the second time in a week when they face the Crusaders next Friday in the semifinal round of the tournament. The championship game will be played on Sunday.
Game Notes:
* The Leopards have now advanced to the league tournament in all but one of head coach
Dennis Bohn's seven seasons at Lafayette. The only year the Leopards failed to qualify for the tournament was in Bohn's inaugural season in 2001.
* The six ties this fall are the most in a single season in Lafayette history. The last squad to finish with at least five ties was the 2001 team (8-4-5).
* Nelson allowed just eight goals all season, a single-season record. The sophomore stands ahead of
Scott Backus '06 and
Jay Freedman '01 who are tied for second with 10 goals allowed (Backus in '06, Freedman in '01).
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