Brookhaven, N.Y. - The Dowling Men's Soccer
team defeated Southern Connecticut State University in penalty
kicks to advance to the NCAA DII Quarterfinals in Rindge, N.H.
where they will face Franklin Pierce University. Mouhammad
Mboup scored the equalizer in the 66th minute to send the game into
overtime and eventually a shootout.
Dowling earned a bye on Friday after earning the No. 2 seed in the
east region while Southern Connecticut defeated Dominican College
to advance to the second round versus the Golden Lions. The
Owls exploded in the first half, outshooting Dowling 11-0 while
putting pressure on the Golden Lions' back line. It wasn't
until the 41st minute that Southern Connecticut got on the board as
Doural Scott received a pass from Ross McGibney, firing it into the
left corner to give his team the 1-0 lead going into the break.
The match turned out to be extremely physical, with 7 yellow cards
given out. However, it was the Golden Lions who were issued a
red card just 6 minutes into the second half, making them play a
man down for the remainder of the game. Despite having only
10 men on the field, Dowling picked up the pace and was able to
contain the Owls. With the season on the line, Mouhammad
Mboup hit the back right corner off a pass from Joseph Henton to
even the score at 1-1.
Southern Connecticut had many chances on the day, outshooting
Dowling 25-6 in regulation, but Chris Kucera came up big in the
net, turning away 2 balls to send it into overtime.
The Owls once again controlled the ball with crisp passing,
tallying 8 more shots in both overtime periods, but Kucera came up
with 3 more saves to give Dowling a chance in penalty kicks.
In the shootout, Andrew Esposito was the first to turn away a
shot, punching out Dowling's third try. With the Owls making
their next shot, it came down to the fifth and deciding try, with a
goal sending Southern Connecticut to the quarterfinals.
Victor Hernandez let it rip, but the ball sailed over the cross
bar, giving Dowling a new life. After Vladimir Milosavljevic
connected on his shot, the shootout would be sent into a 1-1
situation.
With the Owls hitting their next two, Kucera got a hand on their
third chance, leaving it up to Mouhammad Mboup to score the
deciding goal. His shot would reach the upper left corner
just out of reach of Esposito to send the Golden Lions to the NCAA
quarterfinals.
Dowling, now at 11-1-6 on the season, will travel to Rindge, NH
for the quarterfinal match against the No. 1 seed and No. 1
nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University Ravens. The
Golden Lions last faced the Ravens on September 7th in Brookhaven,
NY where they took a 1-0 victory, handing the Ravens their only
loss of the season.
Provided by Dowling Sports Information Department.
