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Health & Fitness

On Sudden Death Goal, St. Francis Brooklyn Qualifies for NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament

Terriers capture program's 5th Northeast Conference title and first since 1998 on Andy Cormack's golden goal.

New Britain, CT. St. Francis Brooklyn men’s soccer team captured the 2013 Northeast Conference (NEC) championship in dramatic fashion, as Andy Cormack’s goal at 6:53 of sudden death overtime gave the Terriers a 3-2 win over Bryant University.

With the win, St. Francis captured its first NEC title since 1998 as well as an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament.

Tournament MVP Kevin Correa had two goals in the NEC final to go with the two he netted in a 2-0 victory over number 1 seed Central Connecticut State in Friday’s NEC semifinal contest.

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“I’m glad to get this honor as I worked hard this whole season,” said the junior forward, who added that “this [Terriers’ team] is a very hard working group — everybody here deserves this.”

Correa — who led the NEC with 13 goals in conference play but lost out to Neco Brett of Robert Morris for the NEC 2013 Player of the Year award — demonstrated why he is St. Francis’ player of the year. Both of his goals on Sunday erased Bryant leads.

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St. Francis Coach Tom Giovatto had high praise for his team’s leading man.

“He has a bright future, he’s someone that’s going to play at the next level, and he’s going to do well there too,” said the Terrier coach, now in his seventh year.

Correa’s heroics were in much demand as a determined Bryant squad — a 3-2 winner by penalty kicks on Friday night over second seed St. Francis, PA — seized early control of the match.

Seven minutes in Bulldog sophomore forward Bret Larocque caught the Terrier defense napping. Larocque gathered in a long lead pass behind two St. Francis defenders and then beat a stunned St. Francis netminder Jack Binks for his 8th NEC goal of 2013.

The Terriers controlled play for much of the half, as senior forward Gabriel Bagot pin-balled all over the field. Despite some good scoring chances, St. Francis could not make a dent in the Bryant defense, trailing 1-0 at the half.

Coach Giovatto spoke to his players at halftime about taking advantage of a Bryant squad that would likely begin to tire in the second half.

“I said to the guys: ‘Don’t worry, we get that next goal and we’re gonna win this game,’” stated Giovatto after the game. “We knew they’d played a tough semi-final game, they’d played double overtime, they’d played penalties, they’d played late at night. We knew they were going to have tired legs. We knew we had to go at them.”

Determined to score early in the half, the Terriers pushed the ball through the Bulldog defense. Their aggressive play was rewarded as a Bryant trip of junior forward James Caicedo gave St. Francis a free kick from 30 yards out. Correa converted a left-footed strike at the 46-minute mark to knot the match at 1 apiece.

Before the Terriers had a chance to savor their success, the Bulldogs struck back a minute later. Larocque threaded a pass through the St. Francis defense to sophomore midfielder Lucas Guerriero who put a shot past a diving Binks to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead.

Despite having to again play from behind, St. Francis continued to attack the Bryant defense, as the Terriers peppered Bryant keeper Chris Knaub with 13 shots in the half and 21 for the match. The Bulldogs simply had no answer for Correa, who created multiple opportunities for his teammates. A Bryant penalty at the 70-minute mark gave St. Francis a free kick from 25 yards out, and again Correa came up big with a strike that deflected off the Bryant defense and trickled in past Knaub, knotting the game at 2-2.

The final 20 minutes of regulation saw both teams press for goals, and with the clock ticking down to zero, St. Francis senior Larry Lopez ripped a shot that struck the Bryant crossbar, bouncing harmlessly away.

In overtime the Terriers continued their attack, getting the ball into the middle field for scoring chances. Late in the first overtime period Gabriel Bagot looked to split the Bryant defense at the top of the penalty box. Bryant defender Shane Murphy’s only recourse was to trip the speedy Terrier. Up stepped junior co-captain Andy Cormack who drilled a free kick past Bryant’s Knaub for the golden goal that sent St. Francis into the NCAA tournament.

Bryant coach Seamus Purcell was gracious in defeat. “Tough way to go out but I’m so proud of my boys and how they went out and did well today and on Friday. Unfortunately, it’s hard to win two overtimes in a row but great game.”

“Great team St. Francis and a great coach Tom Giovatto, just a class guy,” continued Purcell. “I really respect and like him, so if there’s anyone I’m going to lose to I’d lose to him.”

It’s the fifth NEC men’s soccer title in St. Francis history. Next up for the Terriers: the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament. Seeding for the tournament bracket happens today at 11a.m.

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