After winning goals from seniors Ben Goldberg on November 5 and Lauren Alley on November 4, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams went on to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championships on November 8, where they won with shutouts. The women’s team travelled to Dallas, PA, where they faced Misericordia University, and the men’s team stayed at home to host their opponent, Lebanon Valley College.
The first goal of the women’s game was scored in the 10th minute, off sophomore Sophia Murphy and to sophomore Malia Chopra, who knocked the ball in, notching Chopra’s first collegiate goal as a Duck. The game was held scoreless until the 51st minute, with five shots on goal being traded between both sides. At the 51st minute, junior Molly McCann landed a goal off an assist from Alley. They went through another short period with no goals scored, but the Ducks put their all into four attempted shots, with one of them being on goal. As the game was nearing the end, McCann got one more goal out there with no assist. The Cougars attempted one more shot, but they were off-target, and the Ducks won their eighth conference championship since 2010 with a score of 3-0. Along with the conference win, the game brought many successes to senior goalkeeper Kenny Donley, who marked her fourth shutout in the last five games, where she was on the field for all 90 minutes. She was also able to lower her goals-against average to 0.57, but raise her save percentage to 0.863, and she landed 10 wins in a season for the first time.
The men’s game started up quickly, with both teams trading shots on goal early on. There were shots by Goldberg and senior Thomas Smith, but they were turned away. By halftime, there was still no progress with the score, and Lebanon Valley had three more attempted shots over the Ducks at 8-5, with only three of them being on goal for both sides. The second half started up quickly again, with junior Omar Martinez making a shot on goal in the first few seconds. Sophomores Matthew Murillo and Emerson Kekesi, and graduate student Ryan O’Byrne all saw their shots denied by the 75th minute. For nearly eight minutes after that, there was not a single registered shot on goal for either side. With only six minutes left in regulation, the Ducks started feeling the pressure. First-year Lucas Mendes got the ball and passed it to Kekesi, who got it to O’Byrne. The ball found the back of the net, and graduate student goalkeeper Sebastian Montoulieu kept the ball out of Stevens’ net to give the Ducks their fifth straight conference win at 1-0. It was a big marker for the Ducks, with Kekesi tallying 13 points over the last four games, O’Byrne scoring three goals in his last six games after having no career goals, and Montoulieu making four saves.
Coming off these amazing wins, both teams will be heading to the NCAA Tournament next.
