KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Nov. 6, 2022) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's soccer team rode their magic carpet all the way to a Skyline Conference Tournament title, as the Mariners took down fifth-seeded Yeshiva, 4-2, on penalty kicks after 110 minutes of soccer ended in a 2-2 tie. The conference crown was the first for the program since 2016. USMMA will head to the NCAA Tournament with a record of 11-4-6, while the Maccabees finish their season at 9-3-3.
Game Links
After Yeshiva's offense helped orchestrate two upset wins on the road to get to the conference final, the Mariners played with a defensive mindset in the first half. The Maccabees, however, answered Merchant Marine's lockdown style of play with strong defense of their own. Shots on goal were nowhere to be found until the final minutes of the opening half.
Josh Ziarno of Yeshiva delivered a pass in front that was knocked home by Rafael Cohen to give the Maccabees a 1-0 lead in the 43rd minute. The goal proved to be the only shot on goal in the entire first half.
As the second half began, the horses were let out of the barn and the conservative play went out the window as the game opened up in the blink of an eye. USMMA pressured Yeshiva's defense which led to one of many throw-ins for sophomore
Derek Vanasse (Camarillo, Calif.).
One heave into the box from Vanasse could not be handled by Yeshiva goalkeeper Benjamin Brener and the "Johnny-on-the-spot" for the Mariners was sophomore
Jason Healey (King George, Va.), who headed home the loose ball to knot the score at 1-1 in the 49th minute.
Both defenses began to tighten back up, but Yeshiva nearly answered right back in the 52nd minute as a Jess Rom shot appeared destined for the top of the net. USMMA junior goalkeeper
Ashton Carey (Pasadena, Md.), however, managed to knock it over the crossbar.
The match remained knotted at 1-1 into the 64th minute. As the saying goes, history repeats itself. A Yeshiva foul in the box gave freshman
Wes Ferry (Newport, N.C.) a penalty kick and a chance to give USMMA its first lead of the game. A week earlier, Ferry converted a penalty kick against Mount St. Vincent at the same end of Tomb Field. Once again, Ferry delivered the goods to put the Mariners up 2-1.
Defense became the USMMA focus as the clock ticked closer to zeros, but a Mariner foul in the box gave the Maccabees the break they needed in the form of a penalty kick. Lucas Baredes, Yeshiva's leading scorer, rifled a shot past Carey to knot the score at 2-2 in the 87th minute.
The final seconds of regulation ticked off and sent the Mariners to their second-straight overtime game of the conference championships.
Unlike the Farmingdale State game, two 10-minute overtime periods determined no winner and the 2022 Skyline Conference champion was to be decided by penalty kicks.
Fresh off his PK goal in the second half, Ferry buried yet another tally on the first attempt of the shootout. USMMA then benefitted from an errant Yeshiva attempt as Baredes fired high over the net.
After junior
Miguel Millan (Lake Travis, Texas) had his attempt stopped, Asher Martin tied the PK at 1-1 after two rounds. Up next for USMMA was Vanasse, who had gotten the Mariners to the final with his arm. Now he needed to deliver with the leg. Vanasse did just that, depositing a shot into the top corner that put the Mariners up 2-1. Carey then stole more momentum for USMMA as he robbed Marc Ziarno with a full-extension dive to his left.
As the fourth round opened, the Mariners had a Kirk Gibson moment. Forced to miss the playoffs with an injury sustained in the regular season finale, senior goalkeeper
Chase Miller (Boise Idaho) lined up for a penalty kick attempt.
Miller said after the game that he had not attempted a penalty kick since his sophomore year of high school. By the result, you would have thought he had been practicing all week. Miller roped a shot upstairs in the same spot as Vanasse and the Mariners went up 3-1. USMMA was a save away from a title.
Rom, who was robbed by Carey in regulation, answered back with a PK conversion that made it 3-2 through four rounds and kept the Maccabees alive. The Skyline Conference title shifted to the right foot of freshman
Billy Castoro (Garden City, N.Y.) Castoro, who had not scored all year until tallying consecutive game-winners in the final two regular season games, stepped to the spot. With a title in the balance and a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line, Castoro sealed the deal and sent Tomb Field into a frenzy with a shot low and inside the right post.
USMMA will have to wait to find out their first round opponent, but they do know this: Vanasse is the 2022 Skyline Championship Most Valuable Player. It is not often you see a soccer player win MVP with his arms.
The NCAA Tournament selection show will be held tomorrow, Monday, Nov. 6, at 1:30 p.m. as the Mariners will look to extend their magic carpet ride all the way to a national championship.
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