Second seed Morrisville State College men’s soccer claimed the programs first North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship title Sunday, posting a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory over top seed Penn State Abington in Fort Washington, Pa. The Mustangs earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament, the first in the history of the program.
Morrisville State improves to 15-4-1 overall and will await further tournament information following the NCAA selection show which is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 1 at www.ncaasports.com.
Playing to a draw for much of the first half, Penn State Abington broke the scoreless tie by collecting a rebounded save and chipping it past Morrisville State keeper, Rob Larkin (Clinton, N.Y.) for the goal advantage at the 39:35 mark. Julian Ward recorded the tally with teammates Alex Martins and Joshua Clinger recording the assists.
Morrisville State continued to put pressure on the Nittany Lion defense throughout the second half and finally broke through, stunning Abington with a scoring volley from Joey Plummer (Gates, N.Y.) from about 20 yards out that deflected high over keeper James Carlin to tie the contest with 4:54 remaining on the clock, forcing the sudden victory period.
A quick and intense offensive attack by the Mustangs in the extra frame led to a crucial Abington foul within the box, awarding Morrisville State a penalty kick just 1:01 in.
Jacob Chase (Cooperstown, N.Y.) fired the ball up the middle and under the crossbar to give the Mustangs the title win. Chase was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, posting his second game winning score on the weekend.
Larkin registered the victory in net, making three stops, all in the second period.
NCAA tournament information will be announced as it is made available.