BABSON PARK, Mass. (taken from a Babson press release) --
Fourth-seeded Brandeis University scored two first half goals and
then held on for a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Babson College in
the semifinals of the 2006 ECAC New England Men’s Soccer
Tournament at Hartwell-Rogers Field on Saturday afternoon. With the
win, the Judges (12-7-3) move on to host #7 New England College in
tomorrow’s championship game, while Babson (13-7-3) sees its
season come to a close.
Brandeis dominated the first half of play, outshooting the host
Beavers, 12-1. The Judges grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute, as
senior Mike Sndyer (Ashby, Mass.) ripped a shot from the left side
of the box that was denied by Babson junior goalie Chris Necklas
(Guilford, Conn.). However, the rebound of Necklas’ diving
save trickled out to the right side, where sophomore Ben Premo
(Florence, Mass.) blasted a shot into an open net for the
game’s first score.
The Judges added another goal at 20:48, when Snyder took a perfect
lead pass from senior Yuval Ezer (Netanya, Israel) down the left
side, crossed the field, and ripped a breakaway shot past Necklas
and into the lower left corner. The 2-0 lead would stand until the
final 10 minutes of the second half, when Brandeis was charged with
an owl goal after a Babson cross was deflected into the net by a
defender. The Beavers followed with more offensive pressure in the
closing minutes, but first-year goalie Tyler Bracken (North
Andover, Mass.) made a clean catch of junior Tom Kowalski’s
(Burlington, Conn.) cross with 30 seconds remaining to help
Brandeis clinch the 2-1 victory.
Necklas finished with six saves in net for Babson, while Bracken
faced no shots on net for Brandeis.
Men's soccer upsets top-seeded Babson, 2-1, to advance to ECAC finals
Posted: Nov 11, 2006