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By Patrick McCormack
Brooklyn Daily
New Britain, Conn – St. Francis College defender Andy Cormack saw the opening he needed and won the game on a free kick in overtime.
Communication with his teammates was key.
“Kevin (Correa) and I were discussing who was going to kick it,” Cormack said. “The keeper was far off to his right and we saw a space so if I hit it the ball was going to go in.”
The junior beat Bryant goalie Chris Knaub from just outside the left corner of the box in the 97th minute to give the Terriers a 3–2 win over Bryant in the Northeast Conference men’s soccer title game at Central Connecticut State University on Sunday. It earns St. Francis its first title since 1998 and an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s an incredible feeling to win,” said Cormack.
Bryant scored the lone goal of the first half when sophomore forward Brett Larocque took a pass from Marco Addonizio at the top of the box and floated it over St. Francis goalie Jack Binks’s head in the 8th minute.
The Terriers tied the score at 1–1 in the 47th minute when Kevin Correa put a free kick in the upper right corner of the goal. The Bulldogs (7–9–2) responded a minute later. Junior Lucas Guerriero received a pass from Larocque and slid it into the net for a 2–1 Bryant lead. St. Francis created chances but didn’t capitalize until Correa, the tournament MVP, had his shot hit off a wall of defenders and go into the net in the 70th minute to tie the score at 2–2. Correa said his teammates just let the game play out when they fell behind.
“Patience was the key today,” he said. “That’s what helped us out.”
The Terriers (12–5–1) almost ended the game in regulation when Senior Larry Lopez’s shot hit off the cross bar as time expired. Bryant had a good opportunity in overtime when Larocque came streaking down the right side, but Binks made a diving save.
After the stop, the Terriers started a counter attack, which left senior Gabriel Bogot one on one with a defender. He was fouled, which led to the free kick that allowed to the winning goal.
Terriers coach Tom Giovatto felt that if his team stuck to its plan good things would happen.
“We have been very disciplined,” Giovatto said. “We talked about it at half time, if we get that next goal we are going to win this game. They played a tough semifinal game. We knew we could go at them because the only thing they could do was foul. They didn’t have enough energy to stay in their feet, and it happened.”
Now his team travels to face Big Ten regular season champions Penn State on Oct. 21 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.