Men’s Soccer Falls to No. 25 University of Scranton in NCAA Division III Championship First Round Play

BABSON PARK, Mass. – The Elms College men's soccer team fell to No. 25 University of Scranton, 6-0 in the First Round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship tournament at Hartwell-Rogers Field on the campus of Babson College in Babson Park, Mass.

With the loss, Elms concludes its season 11-8-2 overall. Scranton (15-2-2) will take on the winner of the pod's other game on Saturday between host Babson (13-3-3) and Colorado College (13-4-3) on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

The Blazers, winners of the 2012 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship tournament, finished the season with the third highest win total in program history and highest under fourth-year head coach Chris Streeter.

Scranton drew first blood, finding the back of the net just 35 seconds into the game when Bill McGuiness (Forty Fort, Pa.) deposited his 10^th goal of the season in the back of the net from the far corner of the six-yard box on a pass from Matthew Salvatore (Howell, N.J.).

The Royals struck again in the 13^th minute of play when Kevin Kozic (Raritan, N.J.) capitalized on a feed from Rich Loeffler (Matawan, N.J.) with his 10^th goal of the 2012 campaign to give Scranton a 2-0 lead.

Elms put some pressure on the Royals' defense in the 19^th minute when sophomore midfielder Joelle Reyes (San Salvador, El Salvador) collected a pass from freshman midfielder Gerard Lawler (Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia) and blasted a rising shot that Royals' keeper James Dillon (Downington, Pa.) punched over the net to keep the Blazers off the board.

Lawler had a pair of opportunities with less than 10 minutes to play in the opening frame, but one offering went high, and Dillon controlled the other to keep the score at 2-0.

Scranton then added its third marker of the period when John Spadaro (Stony Point, N.Y.) launched a curling shot from 30 yards out to give the Royals a 3-0 cushion at intermission. Tom O'Connor (Great River, N.Y.) assisted on the long score.

Elms' freshman goalkeeper Nicholson Pennant (Kingston, Jamaica) made four saves in the first 45 minutes, while Dillon turned away two shots.

Scranton broke through again in the 52^nd minute of play following a pair of shots that glanced off the post. Michael Romano (Freehold, N.J.) blasted the ball in the right corner following a battle for the loose ball inside the six-yard box to give the Royals a 4-0 lead.

The Royals added to their lead when McGuiness connected for his second score of the contest five minutes later with a shot from 10 yards out to extend the lead to 5-0. Elms then suffered an own goal as Scranton posted a 6-0 advantage.

Lawler finished with four shots – two on goal in the losing effort, while freshman net-minder Christian Kostka (Oxford, Conn.) picked up three saves in 34:39 of second half action.

Kozic and McGuinness combined for 11 of Scranton's 20 shots. Dillon finished with three saves to seal the win.