CCU

Men's Soccer Downed by Seton Hall in NCAA Tournament

       

Men's Soccer Downed by Seton Hall in NCAA Tournament

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — The Seton Hall Pirates defeated the Coastal Carolina
Chanticleers by the score of 2-1 in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship in front of 266 spectators this evening at Klöckner Stadium. Seton Hall's Ryan McGowan broke open a 1-1 tie game when he headed in the game-winning goal at 62:03 to help the Pirates advance to the second round of the tournament to face the Virginia Cavaliers.

Seton Hall jumped on the scoreboard first when Phil Swenda headed in a cross off of a free kick from teammate Luke Serafin just 8:39 into the contest to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. The Chanticleers tied the game at 40:32 when Coastal Carolina's J.R. Casadonte sent a corner kick into the box that connected with Mike Littlefield, who headed the ball into the goal for the tying score to knot the match at 1-1. The two teams would go into halftime tied at one apiece.

The game remained tied at 1-1 until Seton Hall's McGowan scored the game-winning goal at 62:03. The Pirates' goal was set up when Ryan Witt sent a pass to teammate Jerrod Laventure, who then played a cross to McGowan who was positioned in the box. McGowan headed the ball past Coastal Carolina goalkeeper Andrew Paxton to put Seton Hall ahead 2-1. The Pirates withstood a late Chanticleer charge and held on for the 2-1 victory.

"We had no idea what their team would look like, we had never seen them," said Seton Hall head coach Manfred Schellscheidt. "They were a hard-fighting team and they gave us all we could ask for. We have a great deal of respect for them. We got lucky to get away with the game-winning goal. They are an excellent team."

With the victory, Seton Hall's record improves to 11-6-2 overall, while the loss drops Coastal Carolina's record to 10-8-3 on the the season. The defeat eliminates the Chanticleer from the tournament.

The Pirates will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and SHU will face #2 seeded UVa. Seton Hall and Virginia will meet on Sunday, November 25th and the match is scheduled to be played at 1:00 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.

Goals:
SHU 2 - Swenda @ 8:39 (Serafin), McGowan @ 62:03 (Laventure, Witt).
CCU 1 - Littlefield @ 40:32 (Casadonte).

Shots: CCU 7, SHU 6.

Corner Kicks: CCU 5, SHU 3.

Saves: SHU 2, CCU 2.

Fouls: SHU 19, CCU 18.

Cautions: SHU 2 - Strohmann, Laventure. CCU 2 - Roberts, Stone.

Attendance: 266.