WALTHAM, Mass. -- An 11th minute goal by sophomore forward Ben
Premo (Florence, Mass.) stood up as the fourth-seeded Brandeis
University men's soccer team upended No. 5 seed Plymouth State
University, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Division III New
England tournament.
Brandeis (11-7-3) got the game's only goal at the 10:29 mark when
senior back Scott Zackaroff (Bath, Ohio) sent a tremendous ball
from deep in his zone over the Plymouth State defense. Premo split
two defenders and went in on net to tally his 15th goal of the
season and the 25th of his career.
After managing just three shots in the first half, Plymouth State
(10-7-2) turned up the pressure in the second. The Panthers got off
seven shots in the second stanza, though just one was on net. PSU
got its best chance in the 78th minute, when junior Takeru Tanikawa
(Shizuoka, Japan) hit the crossbar and senior Steve Martus (Wilton,
N.H.) sent the rebound wide. Plymouth also had a ball appear to go
in following a corner kick, but the linesman ruled that the ball
curved out of bounds before being put home.
Brandeis rookie Taylor Bracken (No. Andover, Mass.) made two saves
to record his ninth shutout of the season, while PSU sophomore
Tyler Shute (Deerfield, N.H.) kept his team in the contest with
eight saves, including six in the second half.
With the win, Brandeis advances in the postseason for the first
time since 1998. The Judges meet top-seeded Babson College in the
semfinals Saturday, tenatively at 1 p.m., in Wellesley. The Judges
and Beavers played to a 1-1 tie earlier this season.
Early Premo goal stands up as men's soccer tops Plymouth State, 1-0, in ECAC Quarters
Posted: Nov 08, 2006