PDL Feature
Monday, November 19, 2012
Fairleigh Dickinson’s run in the NCAA Tournament continued on Sunday night as the Northeast Conference champion defeated No. 8 seed St. Louis 2-1 in overtime to advance to the third round. The New Jersey Rangers’ Jack McVey scored the decisive goal in the 103rd minute, leading the current and former PDL alumni who helped their sides advance to the Sweet 16 next Sunday.
McVey, who scored nine goals and added six assists for the Rangers this past summer, headed home a cross by fellow Ranger Antony Moore to give the Knights victory. Moore, whose goal had led FDU past St. John’s in the opening round, had both assists for the Knights on Sunday to continue his strong run of form.
The Knights will next face No. 9 seed North Carolina, which needed penalty kicks to advance past UMBC after the two teams had played to a 0-0 draw after regulation and overtime. Carolina Dynamo goalkeeper Scott Goodwin made a pair of saves in regulation, but then stopped three shots by the Terriers in the shootout as the Tar Heels got goals from fellow Dynamo alumni Martin Murphy and Cameron Brown to advance.
No. 1 seed Notre Dame had an easier time of things in a 3-0 win against Michigan State that was powered by Reading United’s Ryan Finley, the Chicago Fire PDL’s Harrison Shipp and the Austin Aztex’s Dillon Powers.
Shipp gave the Fighting Irish the lead in the 33rd minute, latching onto a through-ball by Powers before shooting into the left corner of the net. Powers was the creator again for Finley’s goal a minute before the halftime break, taking a short corner before delivering a cross that Finley headed home for his 21st goal of the season. Notre Dame will next face Indiana in the third round.
FC Tucson’s James Cohn played a role in the other major upset of the round, scoring a goal as San Diego defeated UCLA 5-2. The Pali Blues’ Evan Raynr had a goal and assist for the Bruins, but it wasn’t enough to avert the end of their season.
The Chicago Fire PDL’s Dylan Mares had a hat trick to lead Louisville into the third round as the Cardinals recorded an emphatic 5-0 victory against Winthrop. Reading United standout Greg Cochrane opened the scoring for Louisville in the opening minute, also adding an assist later in the game, before Mares recorded three consecutive goals around halftime to put the game away. Sounders FC U23 forward Zack Foxhoven added the fifth with nine minutes to go.
Creighton got goals from the Des Moines Menace’s Brent Kallman, Portland Timbers U-23s Andrew Ribeiro and VSI Tampa’s Christian Blandon as the Bluejays advanced to the third round with a 4-2 win against Washington.
Kallman opened the scoring for the Bluejays off an assist by his Menace teammate Bruno Castro in the sixth minute. Then after the two teams had exchanged goals early in the second half, Ribeiro beat his Timbers U-23s teammate Spencer Richey for what proved to be the game-winner in the 66th minute. Blandon added an insurance goal with four minutes to go, with a final goal for the Huskies by Timbers U-23s forward Dylan Tucker-Ganges coming too late for his side to mount a serious comeback.
No. 12 seed Creighton will next face No. 5 seed Akron, which earned a 2-1 victory against Michigan thanks to a game-winning goal by the Michigan Bucks’ Thomas Schmitt, who beat his PDL teammate Adam Grinwis for what proved to be the game-winning goal just before the hour-mark. Grinwis, the 2012 PDL Goalkeeper of the Year, made nine saves, but was unable to prevent his side’s season from coming to an end.
Elsewhere, Real Colorado Foxes defender Kyle Venter continued his strong fall for New Mexico as he scored the opening goal in the Lobos’ 3-1 win against Virginia, sending his side into a third-round contest with No. 4-seed Connecticut. The Chicago Fire PDL’s Joey Calistri scored the only goal as Northwestern downed Marquette 1-0, and the New Orleans Jesters’ Patrick Mullins scored again to help No. 2 seed Maryland rally from a goal down to defeat Brown 2-1.
Reading United’s Justin Portillo scored as Coastal Carolina continued its run with a 2-1 victory against No. 15 seed Wake Forest, while his PDL teammate Steven Neumann recorded the assist on the only goal of the game as No. 3 seed Georgetown edged out Charlotte 1-0.