PLYMOUTH, N.H. ? With a crushing 3-2 overtime loss to third-seeded Keene State at Panther Field last Saturday, November 15, the Plymouth State University Men?s soccer season came to a close. The second-seeded Panthers made it to the semi-finals of the ECAC tournament after defeating seventh-seeded Salve Regina last Wednesday, November 12, by a score of 1-0, with Plymouth winning 3-1 on penalty kicks. The Panthers finished the season with a record of 12-4-3.
The Panthers got off to a quick start, scoring the first goal of the match in the fourth minute of play. Senior Michael Cantelli took a free kick from thirty yards out and the ball landed on the foot of junior Sebastian Rodriguez. Rodriguez tried to flick the pass past Keene State keeper Brandon Beck, only the ball spun off his foot and onto the foot of Plymouth State sophomore Brad Wyman, who promptly slammed the ball into the open net, giving Plymouth the one goal lead.
From there the match seemed to turn into a game of kick and run, with both squads playing the long ball up the field and attempting to run onto the ball. It seemed to work to the advantage of Keene State in the thirty-eighth minute, as Keene State junior Casey Banks sent a cross into the box and was headed into the goal by KSC junior Jimmy Hogan. Plymouth State fans were upset with the goal, as it looked like Plymouth State senior keeper Brad Wilby had control of the ball when Hogan bumped into him, causing the ball to drop into the net. Regardless of the ruling, the score was tied at one apiece.
Plymouth State struck back though with three minutes left in the half as senior captain Sal Friello hurled a long throw-in into the eighteen. There, freshman Peter Balslev flicked the ball off his head to senior Chipe Culum, who soundly placed the ball past Beck and gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead going to the half.
Keene State would tie the match in the sixty-eighth minute as Keene State freshman Eric Scott crossed the ball into the box and the ball deflected off a Panther defender rolling past Wilby, tying the game at 2-2.
Both teams seemed to have a great opportunity to win the game in regulation. Keene State had a shot that flew just high of the goal and in the closing seconds of the match, while Rodriguez, who had the ball within the eighteen yard box, seemed to get pulled down by a Keene State defender, but the foul was called against Plymouth and the game went into overtime.
Five minutes into overtime, the Owls put a shock into the Plymouth State players and fans as Keene State junior Joey Amaio sent the ball into the box from the right side and Scott promptly sent the ball into the back of the net, capturing the win for the Owls.
The Panthers were without a doubt one of the teams to beat during the season within the region. Plymouth State was ranked as high as third in the New England and as high as eighteenth in the Division III National Standings. Plymouth State also finished with a share of the Little East season championship and earned the number one seed in the LEC tournament.