University of Dallas men’s soccer wins regional crown

by PegNews wire

The Crusaders win finale over Mitchell College Pequots, 3-1.

In the Association of Division III Independent Conference Northeast Regional Final, the Crusaders from the University of Dallas (16-1-1) and the Mitchell College Pequots (8-12-1) met for the first time in each program's history to lay claim to the Regional crown. Fans were not disappointed as both sides made a strong argument, with the University of Dallas prevailing 3-1.

Mitchell opened the game with a goal early in the first half by freshman forward Joel Blancaflor (Haddam, CT) when he found himself in the right spot at the right time scoring his third goal of the tournament. UD would answer before halftime with a goal by junior midfielder Bennett Rawicki (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial H.S.) assisted by senior midfielder Rob Burton (Round Rock, TX/Stony Point H.S.). Junior captain and forward Brandon Washatka (Topeka, KS/Hayden H.S.) joined Burton in assisting on Rawicki’s goal.

The second half saw UD pull away, as sophomore midfielder Matt Stamper (Blue Springs, AR/Bentonville H.S.) scored on a corner kick flicked on by Burton to double the Crusader score. Junior midfielder Stuart Brown (Boerne, TX/Boerne H.S.) aided Burton, and picked up an assist on the goal as well. Late in the match senior midfielder Eirn Haynes (Houston, TX/Cy Creek H.S.) put the match away with a goal assisted by freshman midfielder Ryan Meske (Niwot, CO/Niwot H.S.).

Pequot senior net minder Gian Camardella (Norwich, CT) made 15 saves on 21 shots while UD shared keeper duties between junior Chris Sumcizk (Grapevine, TX/Nolan Catholic H.S.) and senior Mike Hasson (Fairfax, VA/Trinity at Meadowview H.S.) with 6 saves on 9 shots.

Mitchell placed three players on the All-Tournament team: Senior midfielder Niko Papathanasiou (New London, CT), freshman Joel Blancaflor (Haddam, CT), and sophomore midfielder Alec Deltgen (Norwich, CT). The University of Dallas had four on the All-Tournament team, including tournament MVP and senior defender Jared Lee (Grapevine, TX/Grapevine H.S.). Sophomore midfielder Matt Stamper (Blue Springs, AR/Bentonville H.S), junior midfielder Stuart Brown (Boerne, TX/Boerne H.S.), and junior forward Adam Lunger (Keller, TX/Keller H.S.) rounded out the All-Tournament members for the 17-1-1 Crusaders.

Source: UD