GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The Gettysburg and Muhlenberg men's soccer teams advanced to the championship game of the 2000 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Mid-Atlantic Region championship tournament on Sunday, November 12 at 1 p.m.
In the afternoon's first semifinal matchup, top-seeded Gettysburg (13-5-1) bested fifth-seeded Washington 4-2 in overtime penalty kicks after the teams finished regulation and two 15-minute sudden-victory overtime periods locked in a 0-0 draw.
Washington (11-7-2) started first in the ensuing penalty kicks, slotting its first goal off the foot of leading goal-scorer Justin Daniel (Annapolis, MD/Annapolis). Senior Bullet defender Wes Thurmond (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) quickly notched the equalizer but it was Gettysburg goalie Steve Kopp (Upper Montclair, NJ/Montclair) who came up big, stopping Washington's Sean Mulcahy (Baltimore, MD/Archbishop Curley).
Junior forward Clayton Krum (Hellertown, PA/Moravian Academy) gave Gettysburg the one-goal lead and Washington again failed to notch their second goal as T.J. Velykis (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) sailed his shot high over the crossbar.
Gettysburg booter Kip Jones (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) and Shoreman Chris Hastings (Glenelg, MD/River Hill) both found the net in the next two shots, but the Bullets punched their ticket to the championship when J.W Havens (Camp Hill, PA/Camp Hill) sank the fourth straight shot for the host team.
Gettysburg outshot Washington 19-11 on the day and held a 16-14 advantage in corner kicks. Kopp recorded four saves in the Bullet net and John Steere (Wellesley, MA/ Wellesley) posted five between the Washington pipes.
In the ECAC championship tournament's second semifinal match, second-seeded Muhlenberg (11-7) downed six-seeded Penn State-Behrend 1-0.
After 88 minutes of scoreless soccer the Mules kept their game from overtime when David Vassilaros (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) received a long cross in the Penn State-Behrend box and beat goalie Tommy Sieg (Pittsburgh, PA/Gateway) for the game-winner. The score marks Vassilaros' sixth goal of the season. Mule keeper Rob Pomento (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Wyoming Seminary) recorded four saves on 10 Lion shots for his fifth shutout of the year, while Sieg made five stops against 13 Muhlenberg shots.
Semifinal #1
| Score by Half |
1 |
2 |
OT |
OT |
- |
F |
| #5 Washington (11-7-2) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
| #1 Gettysburg (13-5-1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
Gettysburg advances on penalty kicks, 4-2
Shots: W 11, G 19. Corner Kicks: W 14, G 16. Fouls: W 23. G 14. Goalie Saves: W 5 (John Steer 5, Estebar Ferro entered for penalty kicks), G 4 (Steve Kopp).
Semifinal #2
| Score by Half |
1 |
2 |
- |
F |
| #6 Penn State-Behrend (11-10-1) |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
| #2 Muhlenberg (11-7) |
0 |
1 |
- |
1 |
Scoring
M -- David Vassilaros (unassisted), 87:57
Shots: PS-B 10, M 13. Corner Kicks: PS-B 1, M 1. Fouls: PS-B 14, M 10. Goalie Saves: PS-B 5 (Tommy Sieg ), M 5 (Rob Pomento).
