Gannon slips by #21 LHU soccer in PSAC semifinals
ERIE, PA –Sergio Del Castillo scored the game’s only goal just 54 seconds into the contest and it helped Gannon down the nationally-ranked Lock Haven University men’s soccer team, 1-0, in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) semifinals on Friday.
With the win, Gannon improved to 16-2-2 on the season and advanced to Sunday’s PSAC title match where the Golden Knights will meet Millersville University. In Friday’s first semifinal match, Millersville downed host-Mercyhurst University, 2-0.
The loss snapped a seven-match win streak for the No. 21 Bald Eagles, who moved to 13-3-2 on the season.
For Lock Haven, the PSAC semifinal match, marked the Bald Eagles first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2015.
Gannon struck early and look the lead in the first minute after Del Castillo knocked home a pass from Peter Wagner. The Bald Eagles hunted down an equalizer in the first half as Samuel Hershey (Lancaster, Pa./McCaskey) and Andrea DiSomma (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Twp.) both had shots denied by the woodwork in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Gannon also had two more opportunities bounce off the post and in the 36th minute the Bald Eagles had seemingly netted the equalizer, before a late whistle negated the goal. Amazingly, the first half ended 1-0 despite 17 total shots between the two sides.
In the second half, the action cooled slightly as the Golden Knights battened down defensively to keep the Bald Eagles at bay. In the 84th minute with The Haven desperately searching for a goal, Gannon goalkeeper Maximiliano Rocco made a flying save on Beckham Sibiski (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown H.S.) to preserve the lead and bring home the 1-0 victory.
For the match, Gannon held an advantage in shots at 19-10, while LHU led in corner kicks at 7-4.
Ruiz De Eguilaz finished with four saves for Lock Haven, while Gannon’s Rocco made three saves.
The NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championship Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, November 15 at 6:30 p.m. The Selection Show will be available at NCAA.com.
Earlier this week, the NCAA released updated Division II Super Region 1 rankings and the Bald Eagles continued to hold down the No. 6 spot in the rankings. The NCAA regional rankings are an important tool used to determine the field for the NCAA tournament. A total of 10 teams from Super Region 1 will be selected to the 2021 NCAA Division II tournament field. In all, the NCAA championship field will be made up of 40-teams, 10 from each of the four super regions. Gannon was ranked No. 6 in the Super Region 1 rankings this week.
Prior to the start of the match, Colton Swanson was named the PSAC Men’s Soccer Champion Scholar. Beckham Sibiski was named to the Academic All-District Team
