KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Nov. 5, 2014) – For the first time all season, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's soccer team's goal song, "the Doop Song," blared after a save! And that's because sophomore goalkeeper Cory Maier (Hampton, Va.) backstopped the Mariners to a 3-1 penalty kick shootout win over Drew University in the Landmark Conference semifinals on Wednesday afternoon at Brooks Stadium. The game was scoreless after the two 45-minute regulation halves and another two 10-minute overtime periods and technically goes into the record books as a 0-0 draw, but USMMA advances to the Landmark Finals with the win in PKs.

Maier ended the night with four saves in the 110 minutes of play, but came up huge with three more saves on four attempts in the PK shootout. He earned his eighth shutout of the 2014 season.

"Coach Fitzgerald, Coach Banks and I are certainly proud of the team and the effort they put in today," said head coach Michael Smolens. "We've had so many close games this season that we felt comfortable in the 'big game environment' and we're pleased with the way they responded to the the situation."

Drew applied the early pressure in the game, as the Rangers registering the first four shots in the opening 10 minutes of play. Drew senior John Nogiewich had the first real good chance of the game in the ninth minute with a rip from 25 yards out that Maier dove to his right to keep out of the net. The Mariners had momentum building in the 27th minute, as they rattled off three straight shots, but the first was high, the second, a header by junior Dan Weldon (Holland Township, N.J.), was saved by Rangers' senior keeper Michael Reyes and the third was wide right.

The Rangers took over control shortly after and finished the rest of the first half with eight shots to the Mariners' one. Sophomore Gavin Yingling (Salisbury, Md.) did have a chance in the closing seconds of the half with a mini breakaway, but Reyes came out to play the ball away and break the chance up. Drew outshot USMMA in total, 12-4, in the opening half.

In the second half it was the Mariners that came out strong, tallying the first five shots of the half, but only one got through to Reyes, who made the save on freshman Jon Tarbox (Gettysburg, Pa.) in the 72nd minute. Drew responded with the next two chances, but had one blocked and the other smothered by Maier. Regulation ended with the Rangers ahead in shots by a count of 14-9.

The only shot of the first overtime came off the foot of senior captain Kyle Arestivo (Northport, N.Y.), but sailed high of the goal. In the second overtime, Drew had back-to-back shots in the 107th and 108th minutes, the first was saved by Maier and the second went just wide right. Junior Erik Kempinski (Milford, N.J.) nearly ended the game with under just three seconds left in the second OT, but his shot from the top of the box went just over the crossbar. Reyes ended the night with two saves for the Rangers and earns a shutout, despite losing the PK.

So the game came down to penalty kicks to decided who will travel to Washington, D.C. this weekend to face #1-seed Catholic in the Landmark Finals on Saturday. Catholic defeated #4 Goucher, also in a shootout that ended 7-6 in favor of the home team after the two squads played to a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes.

This was the first time in Landmark Conference history that both semifinal games were decided by a penalty kick shootout.

Drew shot first and Nogiewich failed to find the twine as Maier dove to his left to make the stop. All three shooters that competed in the shootout for USMMA were successful as senior Alex Maney (Ashburn, Va.) led off, Yingling was second and Weldon was last. The Rangers scored on their second attempt, but missed their third. Drew senior Tommy Tolve stepped up to the PK dot having to score to keep the PK going, but his attempt was unsuccessful as Maier made the stop and the Mariners' and the home crowd at Brooks Stadium, which included the USMMA football team, went crazy.

"We're pleased with how the guys stepped up and made the penalty kicks when we needed them most and Cory came up real big to help get us the win," added Smolens. "We played a tight game with Catholic earlier this year and we know it will be a tough test on Saturday, but we're certainly looking forward to the challenge."

#2 Merchant Marine (10-7-2) will square off against the #1 Cardinals of the Catholic University of America (9-5-4) this Saturday, Nov. 8, in the Landmark Conference Championship Game. A start time has yet to be announced, but the game will be held at Catholic's CUA Soccer Field.

This is not the first time these two teams have met in the Landmark Finals. They have actually met twice before, first in 2010 when the Cardinals won the championship a PK shootout, and again a year leter in 2011, when USMMA came out on top, 1-0.

Receive Men's Soccer News Straight To Your E-Mail!

If you would like to receive all the latest news on the USMMA men's soccer team, including all press releases, send an e-mail to Director of Athletic Communications Joe Guster at gusterj@usmma.edu with the subject "Men's Soccer E-Mails."