Niagara Wins 2012 MAAC Men's Soccer Championship
MAAC Sports
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. - Third-seeded Niagara University Purple Eagles earned its 1st
MAAC title with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Loyola
University Maryland in the title game of the 2012 Men's Soccer Championship at
Marist's Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field.
The only goal of the game came in
the 101st minute in the second overtime of the match. Niagara's
Bryan Da Cruz made the shot from 12 yards out with an assist from Micah Paulino.
Brett Petricek recorded six saves
for the Purple Eagles.
Rene De Zorzi was named the Most Valuable
Player of the championship, joining teammates Da Cruz, Ken Cooper and
Darren Cooper on the All-Tournament Team. Loyola was represented by Kevin
Curran, Zach Tweddell and Hector Arellano on the squad. Iona College's
Robbie Krohmer and Alvaro Torrecilla as well as Siena College's James Beeston
and Mike Matera rounded out the members of the All-Tournament Team.
Niagara has earned the MAAC's
automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The
bracket announcement for the 2012 NCAA® Men's College Cup will take place on
Monday, Nov. 12 at approximately 5:30 p.m. on ncaa.com.
Championship Final:
|
1st
|
2nd
|
OT
|
2OT
|
Final
|
Loyola (13-6-1, 7-1 MAAC)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Niagara (13-1-4, 5-1-1 MAAC)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Scoring: Niagara, Bryan Da Cruz (101:47)
Saves: Niagara - Brett Petricek 6, Loyola - Thurman Van Riper 3
Shots: Niagara
17, Loyola 13
Corner Kicks: Niagara
5, Loyola 4
Fouls: Niagara
18, Loyola 7
Offsides: Loyola 2, Niagara 0